Baltimore riots: Five undeniable truths in America

Since the death of Michael Brown Jr. last year, this country has seen wide spread demonstrations, violence, and social discord unlike anything we have seen since the Vietnam era. What began as a racially framed argument has evolved into much more than something as simple as black and white and unless we explore deeper than the racial element, we will see much worse than what we have witnessed from Ferguson or Baltimore. Throughout all of this, I believe there are five truths that stand out and are just a fraction of what needs to change if we, as a nation, are ever going to mend and move forward.

LOCAL POLITICS MATTER MOST: Most of us know far too much about who is running for president and far too little about those running for city council or the school board. When a local problem rises to a national level like we saw happen in Ferguson and Baltimore, it is the end result of years, perhaps even decades, of local neglect and corruption. Kickbacks, quid pro quo, and political favors are far more likely to go unreported and undetected at the local level by citizens or the media. Simply put, most of us fail to view local politics in the same regard as we do national politics and fail to realize our locally elected leaders have far greater influence on our lives than whoever sits in the Oval Office. It is time the voting public take more interest and demand more information about who their local politicians are and who they are in bed with politically.

If you look at politicians as nothing more than potential cancerous growths, it is better for our long term health to stop them in their formative stages, the local level, than to think they will solve our problems when they have grown into becoming part of a national malignancy. 
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