Lucky to live in the US: Murder Rates Down Sharply in the Land of Law and Gratitude

Newly naturalized citizens sing "God Bless America"

In these days when the presidential race is driving everyone batty, and candidates capitalize on how awful everything is, we need some good news. Here it is.

Black lives and all lives do matter, and more of them are being preserved. A new study in the American Sociological Review of 131 of the largest US metropolitan areas found the rate of homicides way down, within and across black, Hispanic and White populations.

Changes in the two decades between 1990 and 2010 are only for the best--and show great strides.

*The black-white homicide victimization rate gap decreased by 40%.

*White homicides are down from 4.8 per 100,000 in 1990 to 3.1 in 2010.

*The black homicide rate went down from 33.9 per 100,000 in 1990 to 20.5 in 2010.

*Homicides of Hispanics crashed from 12.4 per 100,000 in 2010 to 6.6 in 2010--a forty-seven percent decrease.

And the new research contradicts certain candidates' claims, by showing that immigrants very rarely perpetrate crimes. "People who decide to come here are not people with strong tendencies toward violent crime," says study co-author Jeffrey T. Ulmer of Penn State University. "They are coming here for educational opportunities, employment opportunities and opportunities to help their families."

We're so lucky to live in the U.S.

A good friend came by, wearing a long face. "What's the matter?" I asked. He was grieving over the murder-by-gunshot of the mayor of his hometown, San Dionisio in El Salvador. He explained that the mayor, elected to his sixth 3-year term, was beloved by all, because he gave building materials, food and assistance to his impoverished constituents. Mayor Julio Torres had gone missing after milking the cows at his dairy farm. A day later, after an intense search, his body was found. 

Julio Torres, beloved mayor of San Dionisio, murdered by gangs

El Salvador has no rule of law. My friend describes bus drivers, fruit vendors and even children accosted on the street by armed robbers, who murder their victims whether or not they have any money to give. Gangs rule and the government can't contain them.

"When you sit down, you'll be US Citizens."

In contrast, my son told me today of his co-worker, who accompanied his wife to her US naturalization ceremony yesterday. The co-worker described the intense emotion with which the new citizens received their status. They rose to raise their hands and recite an oath of allegiance, and the judge told them, "when you sit down again, you will all be American citizens." The tears of gratitude flowed for the significance of that moment.

We should not take our homeland for granted. God bless America.

Blessed to Live in America--Happy July Fourth!

I'm hokey, and I'm proud.

What's so wrong with sentimentality? Nostalgia? July 4th associations: the early patriots, especially the imposing George Washington, festive neighborhood parades, burgers at picnics, fireworks displays ever more creative and spectacular.

And we appreciate the unique blessings this nation has received. Surely this place has been ordained by God and is sustained by God in a way that only one other on earth has enjoyed. I think that the unique protection and guidance shown the United States is a direct reflection of its founding circumstances and ongoing piety.

Unlike other nations, ours was founded on dedication to God. Protestant Episcopals, Puritans, Lutherans, and Catholics undertook the perilous Atlantic crossing in the 1600s with the purpose of free worship. Each small town across the land boasts one or more steeples on its town square. Not so long ago, "Blue Laws" restricted labor on "The Lord's Day." Prayer in public schools was de rigeur. It is only a distortion of our profound respect for each (atheist) person's view about religion that has meant the end of school prayer and the removal of crosses and Christmas trees. It is this consideration for others' faiths that allows Judaism to flourish in America, (and that now endangers us in our refusal to censure even violent Islam).

Our Constitution does not specify any separation of church and state; to the contrary, the First Amendment, which guarantees several freedoms, sought to prohibit the imposition of a national religion specifically to allow states do choose their own. Freedom in our new land was foremost the ability to practice one's religion unencumbered.

Thus serving God is the basis of America, and to the extent it remains first in importance, our nation remains strong.

I also believe that vast majorities of Americans welcome immigrants, as here, we are all newcomers; no one has more claim to this miraculous land than another.

The fact that this vast continent remained unexplored until just two hundred years ago is another reason for its success. Here, all entrepreneurs have opportunities. Here, invention and creativity are rewarded. Here, education through graduate school is offered to those with promise for free.

We have so many reasons to be grateful--in this breathtakingly beautiful land with so many resources and the intellectual capability to pursue them. This rests in our hearts; as we begin each baseball game with the National Anthem, half the audience chokes back a tear.

Yeah, it's hokey. The family gets together with a few friends and neighbors, puts some Sousa on the i-pod, and grills up the hot dogs to serve with potato salad and watermelon. What could be nicer, and more benign? Fireworks fill the heavens with color, our human imitation of the wonders of Hashem. The summer is young, our nation is young, and we display the youthful expectation that all can be redeemed.

So join me: be hokey and proud. Happy July Fourth! Put that big flag out in front of your house. Join your neighbors in sharing a home-baked pie. And offer a prayer in thanks that we were born and can live in this greatest nation on God's green earth.