Grab a pet, or hug a family member. 

Tell someone you love them.

It’ll make you feel good.

What a week. 

It started out with some visible examples of abhorrent behavior.

Then it got better, and ended with humans acting in a way that will hopefully enable society to progress forward

                                                The Worst

It started with the worst, the visible murder of George Floyd.  He was pressed onto the concrete with a police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck.  He begged for his life, as he realized death was possible while his breathing was inhibited. 

Onlookers tried to intervene, but they were threatened with pepper spray. 

For 10 excruciating minutes, America watched the murder of George Floyd.

                                    Awful

The national riots following the murder of George Floyd, did nothing to honor George Floyd or his family or further the cause of ending police violence. 

These people were not interested in a protest, they used the George Floyd murder as an excuse to riot and cause mayhem. 

Being cooped up for a few months probably didn’t help matters either. 

The looters included men and women of all races and should be thought of as nothing more than criminals. 

                                                Really Bad

The continued dis-alignment with state and federal governments in response to the COVID-19 Crisis continues to paralyze much of America.

How can so many states be so far from each other in policies for intelligently opening back up? 

In the State of Michigan with more fresh water coastline than any state in the union (where swim training is a necessity), lap swimmers are not even allowed to swim outside in chlorine filled pools (which kill the virus) with only one swimmer in a lane, and all swimmers more than 6 feet apart from the next swimmer. 

In the neighboring state of Ohio, all pools are open (with intelligent guidelines), and everyone is able to benefit from summer life at their outdoor pool. 

It seems increasingly apparent that governing bodies are making decisions with the fall election in mind, and not necessarily based on what is best for their particular regions. 

Politics is a dirty business and politicians at all levels continue to hamper Americans for their own personal gain.

                                    Amazing

The ultimate engineering accomplishment. 

SpaceX, in a coordinated effort with NASA, was able to successfully launch American Astronauts into space orbit from the Kennedy Space Center.  A new era of space travel has begun.

                                    The Best

In Flint, MI, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson took off his helmet and put his baton to the ground as a sign of peace, and along with other Flint-area police officers, marched in protest against the George Floyd murder along with all of the other protesters who had gathered. 

Many other cities engaged in peaceful protests, and in other cities such as Grand Rapids, MI volunteers cleaned up after the criminals that raided the night before.

More of this, America.

There has been a steady stream of police brutality against African Americans, and it has to stop.

At the same time, it can be easy to take for granted what law enforcement officers, the US military, fire departments, coast guards, and all other public law enforcement entities not mentioned, do for us to protect our freedom and way of life.

But we shouldn’t.

They put their lives on the line every day, to protect the citizens of this country.

There are 800,000 police officers in this country, many of whom are good and public service minded (possibly even Sargent Balog in Novi, MI who gave me 3 different speeding tickets within a 365 day time span).

Let’s remember this as we mourn the tragedy that struck this week, and hopefully we can all chip in to try and make this world a better place to live.

All of us can do better, and we must.

#SCNrecruiting  #manufacturingrecruiting