Where Can We Find Politicians with Integrity?

             Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden recently condemned the rioting, looting, and burning taking place in numerous cities nationwide. The currents riots began the end of May in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and quickly spread to other Democrat-led cities. Some mayors allowed the destruction for a few days before asking for federal assistance in quelling the riots. Other cities allowed the rioting to continue for weeks before clamping down. Rioting in Portland, Oregon, has been happening for more than three months.

            It is interesting to me that rioting is taking place only in cities and/or states led by Democrats. It is also interesting that Democrat politicians seemed to approve and even encourage the criminal behavior – until polling showed that the riots were turning people away from the Democrat Party. Biden did not condemn the riots because they were bad. He condemned them because of information coming from the polls.

            This week I came across a video of a Democrat who is not afraid to call the riots what they are. Tennessee state representative John J. DeBerry, Jr. of Memphis recently “made a passionate speech on the floor of the Tennessee State Legislature.” He began his speech by sharing his personal experience as a young boy going with his father to protests with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. He described the living conditions of black people in America in the 1960s – riding at the back of the bus, drinking from separate water fountains, entering restaurants and stores through the back door. Despite facing terrible racism, his father never participated in riots. When any protest turned to rioting, he and his father went home. 

DeBerry urged his fellow “lawmakers to have ‘guts’ and denounce the violent unrest.” He told them that the violence and destruction of property taking place in the U.S. cities is a result of the response from politicians. He said that rioters are “emboldened because we act like a bunch of punks – too frightened to stand up and protect our own stuff.”

I have watched the entire video several times, and I am more impressed with DeBerry each time that I watch. He knew that he was putting his political life on the line when he made the speech, and we do not yet know the results. Will he suffer a defeat in the next election, or will he be asked to run for a higher office? We do not know. We do know that he was willing to take a big risk.

DeBerry made numerous statements that are worth quoting, but I liked this one the best: “Peaceful protests end peacefully. Anarchy ends in chaos. And what we see happening right now – any of us with any common sense whatsoever know that what we see is not peaceful.”

This man is a hero in my eyes. We need more men and women with integrity enough to stand up and call evil what it is. I hope that the video goes viral and this man receives credit for having integrity and common sense.