Keller @ Large: Saner Heads Need To Prevail
BOSTON (CBS) - Our country is a big place, with all kinds of people in it. Most, I believe, are decent and honest. Some are not.
By the time you hear this, chances are you will already have heard from people who see the social and human calamity of what happened in Ferguson as an opportunity to score some publicity. The bigots, the demagogues, and the narcissists are always the first and the loudest to chime in.
Read: CBS St. Louis Coverage Of Ferguson
Their input – the sweeping indictments and the feverish finger-pointing – leads down a dead end. Soon enough, they'll be on to the next meal.
But for those who actually care about the social problems exposed by this story, the fatal encounter of black teen and white cop raises plenty of questions that can and should survive the tabloid cycle.
For instance – what can and should be done to establish trust between police and citizens where it is missing?
The description that has emerged since last summer of the Ferguson police and its standing in that community is like something out of the Jim Crow days.
Whatever the truth of Michael Brown's killing, that toxic relationship should trouble every American of goodwill.
Equal rights means equal rights, and either America stands for that or it doesn't.
Officer Wilson also has rights. I look forward to reading the grand jury evidence to see if his rights were properly protected or improperly elevated over Brown's rights.
Read: Peaceful Protests In Boston
What good are we as a culture if we sacrifice justice to the anger of a crowd, however understandable?
As President Obama put it Monday night: "Nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates."
And nobody needs saner heads to prevail going forward more than we do.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON