I’ve decided that it’s long since come time to say that it’s not sufficient for each of us to hold our core beliefs silently close in hopes that if those beliefs are never known they will therefore never be challenged. The older each of us gets, the more influence each of us exerts, in any aspect of life, the more we each have a moral responsibility to actively disclose our beliefs and present them honestly to be both challenged and defended with integrity.

To that end, I’ll be maintaining a public list of the things I believe. As a former mentor of mine was fond of saying, “I reserve the right to get smarter”, so I therefore reserve the right to edit and amend this list. This is not intended to be a confrontation of those who believe differently, only an enumeration of the things I believe and an invitation of accountability to that effect.

The list, in no implied order of priority.

I believe that no human being is inherently inferior or superior to another human being. No matter what their race or ethnic origin, no matter what culture they represent, no matter where they come from in the world, without exception every human has the same inherent personal worth and innate capacity for achievement and every human has a right to be treated with the same degree of respect and dignity in every circumstance.
I believe that all people have inalienable human rights that must be protected and defended above all other things. A moral government is one that prioritizes and enforces those fundamental human rights.
Despite 1 and 2 above, I believe it is indisputable that American people of color, especially black Americans, are subjected to daily systemic racism that is despicable and must be corrected.
Despite 1 and 2 above, I believe it is indisputable that American people of color, especially black Americans, are disproportionately victims of unnecessary use of force, and that is a shameful reality that must be corrected as an urgent national priority.
Despite 1 and 2 above, I believe it is indisputable that American people of color, especially black Americans, are disproportionately arrested and prosecuted for crimes, and that is a shameful reality that must be corrected as an urgent national priority.
Despite 1 and 2 above, I believe it is indisputable that American people of color, especially black Americans, receive disproportionately harsh sentences for crimes they may have committed, and that is a shameful reality that must be corrected as an urgent national priority.
I believe that, given I am not a person of color in America, I have no basis for arguing how any person of color, especially a black American, should feel about any given circumstance or event. I am only qualified to listen as carefully as I can and try and apply whatever compassion, empathy, or intellect I can bring to the discussion in service of making all of the above better tomorrow than it was yesterday.
I believe that every law-abiding person, notwithstanding that person’s race or ethnic origin, has a fundamental right to go about his or her day without fear of harassment, intimidation, confrontation, or violence from any member of law enforcement.
I believe that law enforcement is difficult and dangerous work, work that puts the lives of those who choose to do it at risk each moment of every day, and that few members of the general public have the life experience or personal perspective to appreciate the extent to which that’s true.
I believe there’s nothing inherent to the job of law enforcement that requires or in any way justifies inequity of application of force, inequity in patterns of arrest, inequity in prosecutorial decisions, or inequity is sentencing, and any government at any level has a moral obligation to identify such inequities and correct them aggressively as its most important priority at all times.
I believe that the respective missions of law enforcement and local prosecutorial authorities are, first and foremost, to maintain lawfulness and peaceful order in their local communities. I believe there is nothing about those missions that inherently requires inequitable treatment of any single member of that community in service of that mission, nor is there ever any justification for violating that individual member’s human rights in service of that mission. In contrast, I believe maintaining lawfulness and peaceful order in all cases requires equity in such treatment, and any inequity is inherently in conflict with that mission.
I believe the modern scientific fields of sociology, psychology, and criminal justice are more than developed enough to determine which personal and psychological characteristics of a police officer candidate are likely to ensure equitable and humane treatment of a member of the public, and which characteristic are likely to put the well-being of the public, especially members of minority communities, at risk of their rights being violated. I believe those characteristics known to science must be applied to hiring and training processes for police officers and be the fundamental criteria upon which prospective officers are judged to be appropriate candidates for law enforcement careers. I believe there must be primary recognition that any police officer at any time who displays personality characteristics likely to put the human rights of any single citizen in jeopardy requires that officer be removed from duty, at least duty in direct contact with the public or in any way influencing policy.
I believe that to attract candidates worthy of the mission and inclined to properly serve any given community, compensation and benefits for law enforcement officers should be dramatically increased so as to attract more educated, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent candidates to a career of service, service which is inherently much more dangerous and difficult as compared to other potential careers.
I believe that law enforcement officers must be constantly receiving training on effective community engagement and verbal de-escalation skills and be trained to use those skills as effectively as possible until such a moment where those skills are no longer appropriate to any given situation.
I believe there is no magic technique that ensures a happy outcome in every quarter-second moment where life and death are in the balance, and that there are always circumstances where applications of lethal force are justified, and always will be. I believe all law enforcement officers have both a moral and professional obligation to maintain a high level of practical knowledge and skill regarding effective non-lethal techniques, must be held legally and professionally accountable for not applying those skills in situations that justify them.
I believe all law enforcement officers have a moral responsibility to maintain a degree of personal physicality such that lethal force is never the only employable option in a confrontation with a member of the public. If an officer is able solely to deploy lethal force in response to a potential or unspecified threat, that officer should be deemed unfit for duty in service to the public and assigned other duties.
I believe that in any given jurisdiction, the cooperative nature of law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities makes it inappropriate for those prosecutorial authorities to determine whether law enforcement should be held accountable for potential abuse or misconduct. I believe each state should establish a civil review board, expert, elected, and trusted by the respective communities it serves, to oversee such matters and render judgment when incidents arise.
I believe that it is inconsistent with the principles of basic human rights to assume that any armed force of any composition at any level should have blanket immunity absolving it from responsibility when the fundamental rights of any individual member of the public may have been violated.

Additional thoughts:

I believe that the Confederate battle flag was re-introduced into American culture in the 20th century, long after the Civil War was decided, as a rallying symbol for singularly racist forces in opposition to civil rights for people of color. I believe it has no noble meaning whatsoever in our culture, and symbolizes nothing apart from either an overt level of support for abhorrent, racist beliefs or a tragic ignorance of basic American history.