SAFETY FIRST

THE MOST IMPORTANT CIVIL RIGHT IS SAFETY.*

Airline passengers do not feel safe because people used a powerful weapon to shoot them out of the sky.

Israel does not feel safe because Hamas is shooting rockets at them.

And people in Central America do not feel safe because of gang violence. (IT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO TRANSLATE GANG VIOLENCE. Gang violence means THE VIOLENCE CAUSED BY THE STUPID, UNWINNABLE WAR ON DRUGS.)

How can we teach the Ukrainian separatists that they are expendable pawns in Putin's game of global chess? And that Russia ALWAYS looks better when you are no longer living in Russia?

How do we teach Hamas that violence begets violence? Fixing poverty is a long and hard job, made almost impossible if one tries to hurry the task by resorting to violence.

How can we expect Hamas to become rational and quit shooting rockets when we are unable to become rational and stop the violence caused by making marijuana illegal? Marijuana has not been directly responsible for the death of a single person. BUT the War on Drugs begets violence where ever the DEA goes.

DO NOT TELL ME THAT THESE ARE SEPARATE ISSUES. If irrationality is causing violence, then we NEED TO FIGHT IRRATIONALITY where ever and when ever irrationality is found.

*LA civil rights attorney in the educational CD from the LA County Bar.