The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope

Good morning from Chicago, where I am attending a family reunion. My family arrived yesterday evening and enjoyed greeting other relatives, so I did not view last night's televised "debate" between Joe Biden and Donald Trump as it happened. Based on all media analysts and political pundits I have considered since then, Biden and Trump performed as I expected. Biden was hoarse and halting. Trump was rambling and untruthful. Both candidates performed miserably. If the future of the nation and world is to be decided by a debate performance, reasonable political observers should be concerned. Media and political pundits will point to the debate and use it as the lens through which Biden and Trump should be compared. That's what they are paid to do. But that is always the wrong standard for judging public policy.  The true, correct, and proper question is whether the U.S. will be more just, stable, and functional nation if led by Biden or Trump, not how either candidate &q

  © Wendell Griffen, 2024 June 21, 2024 Little Rock, Arkansas     A New York state court jury found Donald Trump guilty of committing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal check’s signed by Trump to repay his former attorney (Michael Cohen) in 2017 for suppressing unfavorable information about Trump’s alleged sexual encounter years earlier before the November 2016 presidential election. Trump could be sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan by fine, up to four years imprisonment, or probation on each of the 34 counts. Because I had the same sentencing responsibilities for the last 12 of my 25-year tenure as state court judge in Arkansas (I retired at the end of 2022), I am familiar with the issues Judge Merchan faces as he contemplates sentencing Donald Trump on July 11, 2024. There are four theories of punishment judges weigh once persons have been convicted of crimes. They are retribution, deterrence, prevention, and rehabilitation. Each theory has its benefits

  ©Wendell Griffen, 2024 June 7, 2024 Little Rock, Arkansas   Dear Neighbors, I write you in the aftermath of the May 30 New York state court jury verdict that found Donald Trump guilty of committing 34 felony offenses of falsifying business records in order to conceal a conspiracy to interfere with the 2020 U.S. presidential election. I write as a fellow citizen of the United States, native of the American South, African American pastor in the religion of Jesus, honorably discharged former U.S. Army officer, retired state court trial and appellate judge, husband, father, and grandfather. Above all, I am your neighbor. We hold differing views about the role of government. However, I hope we agree that falsifying business records is wrong. I hope we agree that people should not lie, cheat, or entice others to do so. I doubt that you routinely entrust your personal affairs to people who lie, cheat, and steal. I doubt that you encourage your children to cheat in spor