Hatred hit a new low recently as a hoodlum near Los Angeles gunned down two police officers sitting in their car. 

As horrible as that assassination attempt was, its depravity was perhaps exceeded by the mocking jeers of the onlookers who filmed it. Instead of helping the dying officers, they laughed and cheered, yelling, “No justice; no peace!” Later, a leftist mob surrounded the hospital where the officers were being treated, shouting, “We hope they die!” A local leftist activist happily posted, “We should celebrate today that an oppressor has been slain. This is the start of retribution. This is a very good start.” 

That activist is a frequent “counselor” of the leftist mayor of Los Angeles. 

There’s a reason this is happening. One major political party has — for months now — created a toxic environment by telling us that police are inherently bad. They wrote it down in their party platform. Nearly all sports leagues cravenly followed, echoing the nonsensical narrative that the actions of a few bad cops makes the entire nation “systematically racist”.

America is one of the first nations to ban slavery, give people of color the right to vote, give women the right to vote, and institute decades-long multi-trillion-dollar programs like the Great Society and Affirmative Action to help minorities. Businesses and colleges all over the nation – for half a century – have bent over backwards to help minorities and women. We elected a Black president and thousands of senators, congressmen, mayors, fire and police chiefs, etc. of all colors…and loudly celebrate minority athletes and entertainers.

It is a fact that America is the best place in the world for people of color, different faiths and ethnicities, and LGBTQ. We are not a perfect nation, but we are far less racist now than we have ever been, and we are constantly getting better. 

It is a fact that a police officer loses their life every single week. Police brutality is always wrong, but over the past decade it is actually trending down, not up. Last year, only 10 unarmed Black people in the entire nation were killed by police, and five of those were fleeing arrest. Ninety percent of black homicides — nearly 7,000 last year — are committed by other Blacks, not police.

It is also a fact that violence is the weapon that fascists and communists use to achieve their horrific ends – to the death and misery of hundreds of millions. The civil-rights successes this country has achieved were won through peaceful means…not thuggery. 

This week also marked the 19th anniversary of 9/11. The leftist New York City mayor banned the celebration, but the families of the fallen gathered any way to mourn their beloved dead. Police and firefighters were eulogized for their bravery, in a touching reminder of how united we were – just a few years ago – before leftist Socialists poisoned our youth against our brave first responders. 

This week also marked the surprising peace agreement between America, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. Named “the Abraham Accords” in reference to the Biblical forefather of Jews, Christians, and Muslims – it is the first peace agreement in the Middle East for a quarter of a century.

No one saw this coming. Israel has been in existence for 72 years, yet only two Arab countries ever recognized her as a nation. Yet the White House brokered a deal that doubled that number in 29 days, and confirmed that five other Arab nations want to join as well. “Peace requires courage,” said the minister of the UAE, adding, “by the grace of God” Arabs and Jews and Americans were joining together in “a moment of hope and opportunity.” The Israeli Prime Minister called it, “a pivot of history. It heralds a new dawn of peace,” that was “unimaginable just a few years ago” and that will “expand the circle of peace to all the children of Abraham.” 

Nancy Pelosi called peace in the war-torn Middle East, “a distraction.” 

This is the choice we face. On the one hand, we have a party that silently sanctions leftist Socialists who stir-up racial animosity to the point where normal citizens randomly assassinate police officers. On the other, we have a party that honors our first responders and the tremendous sacrifice they make to keep us safe – and a White House who brokers a historic peace between people of biblically different religions and races…who have been fighting each other for thousands of years. 

Dave Belton is a Republican serving in the Georgia House of Representatives from District 112, which includes part of Newton County.