The man pictured in the center, Tom L. Coleman was acquitted of manslaughter by an all white jury in Alabama in October 1965 for murdering the civil rights activist and Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Daniels pushed the African American civil rights activist and student Ruby Sales out of the way and took the shotgun blast that was intended for her.

Richmond Flowers, Sr. the attorney general for Alabama at the time believed the charges should have been murder, but his efforts to get the charges upgraded were thwarted by the trial judge. After the verdict was found; Flowers described the verdict as representing the “democratic process going down the drain of irrationality, bigotry and improper law enforcement.”

I share this not to stir anger at the now deceased Mr. Coleman or the entitled white men who controlled the legal outcome from the jury to the law enforcement to the judge.

But to stir your conscience, like the consciences of Richmond Flowers and Mitt Romney and to ask you to ponder the words of Mr. Flowers — “democratic process going down the drain of irrationality, bigotry and improper law enforcement.”

We live in a great country. I was raised at a time when one of the proudest things of our country is our democratic process and the equal justice for all.

The polarity in this country hyped by the media and putting those in charge in leadership by the hype is destroying this country. I don’t care if you agree with the acquittal of President Trump or if you despise the acquittal.

What I do care is that you don’t let your conscience die. Your soul die.

The Coleman verdict by a group of entitled white men in Alabama was a tragic mockery of our democracy and justice. The current power that the two parties have on our democratic process is only spiraling us further down the drain of irrationality, bigotry, and improper law enforcement. The power they have without any term limits in congress entitles them to do exactly what was done during both stages of this process and that is to ignore the law, ignore their conscience, and not vote based on their conscience and what the facts show, but vote based on how their entitled positions allowed them to vote, vote based solely what was most expedient and beneficial to their political careers.

God bless Mitt Romney for showing us that not everyone in Washington is afraid to vote their conscience. God bless the blessed Jonathan Myrick Daniels for allowing his conscience, shaped by his faith, drive his service and betterment of humanity and serve as an example for all Christians to follow. God bless the soul of Richmond Flowers, Sr. for speaking his conscience at a dark time in American history where so many people failed to listen to their conscience and thereby enabling bigotry, prejudice, racism and hate to run its course mocking justice and liberty for all. And may Tom L. Coleman’s soul know the great blessings and mercy of God not because he was a member of an entitled group in power based on the color of his skin, but because the power of God’s mercy and love upon all creation is greater than any human favor and greater than hate. May God bless President Trump and all our political leaders helping them nurture a greater respect for all and closer relationship with their own conscience.

Above all, may God bless America and nurture the souls of all across the cosmos who believe in the ideals of our democratic republic as shaped by our founders.

All of our consciences and souls are at stake if we continue to allow the polarity in our country to nudge us to overlook our conscience and “go with the party”.

God bless each of us and keep us true to our values and conscience. Our souls depend upon it.