• Support
  • Advertise
  • Locations
  • Contact
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTERS
San Clemente Times
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
No Result
View All Result
San Clemente Times
No Result
View All Result

View From the Pier: To Change Policy, We All Must Get Out and Vote

Staff by Staff
December 9, 2015 1:20PM
in Opinion Columns, SOAPBOX
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
The View from the Pier By Herman Sillas
The View from the Pier By Herman Sillas

By Herman Sillas

It’s that time of year again: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This year brought us more than we expected and at a faster pace. We knew we were in trouble when the New England Patriots deflated their footballs for the 2015 Super Bowl. They did this so their quarterback could grip the ball better in freezing weather and their receivers could catch the ball easier. The Patriots won, and the cheaters were allowed to keep the trophy and ill-gotten money. I can hardly wait to see what will be allowed for a victory next year.

The year 2015 also brought us incidents of young black men being killed by police bullets or excessive force. My mind went back to the 1965 Watts Riot when, after years of being mistreated, the black community erupted for three days. The National Guard was called in to restore order. Committees were formed in both the black and Mexican-American communities to address issues regarding law enforcement, education, housing and employment. We thought things would get better.

Twenty years later I had lunch with a black attorney friend who was a Los Angeles Police Commissioner. Our bill arrived, and we both reached for our wallets. When he opened his wallet, a Police Commissioner’s identification card fell out.

Jokingly, I said, “Man, you showing off your commission position?”

He answered, “It’s not that. When the police stop me, I want them to know that I am their commissioner and not just some regular black man that they can hassle.”

I sadly shook my head. Another 20 years have passed since that lunch and still some law enforcement personnel haven’t learned anything.

December has brought us sorrow and dismay as we learned of the mass killing in Redlands, California. Folks, more than 300 lives have been wiped out in our country by mass killings in 2015! Some have been at the hands of terrorists.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Once again, the debate begins. One side argues regulation of gun possession is needed. The other side argues that if more people were armed they would shoot the mass murderer before he or she could kill anyone.

During the final months of this year we have listened to candidates who want to be President of this nation. When TV star and billionaire Donald Trump had a press conference announcing he was seeking the Republican Party’s nomination, many laughed. Political experts said that no one would follow him. After two Republican debates, Trump leads in the polls, and some Republican candidates have already left the fray. Next year’s Republican primary will at least be entertaining. Democrats have Hilary Clinton, an establishment politician, and Senator Bernie Sanders, a socialist, seeking the party’s nomination.

Following the nominating conventions comes the general election in November 2016 to select our new president. Some of us will listen to the candidates addressing the issues raised in this column. Others of you will think why bother? It’s the same old baloney (SOB). But remember, folks, in our democracy every Congress seat and one half of the Senate seats are up for grabs. No one inherits a seat just because they sat there before.

Some say a democracy is an experiment that has run its course and failed. I don’t believe that. We have the power to choose our leaders and demand they address the issues we want addressed. So register and vote in 2016. We owe that to our forefathers, this country, each other, ourselves and our children. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

That’s the view from the pier.

Herman Sillas may be found most Saturday mornings fishing at the San Clemente Pier. He may be reached at hermansillasla@aol.com

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Tags: Donald TrumpHerman SillasLos Angeles Police DepartmentOrange CountySan ClementeU.S. ConstitutionView From the PierWatts Riot
ShareTweetPin
Staff

Staff

Related Posts

MURF

Local Electric Bike Company Anticipates Year of Growth with Its New Partnership

January 30, 2023
San Clemente Girls Soccer Finishes Early, Moves into First Place with Shutout of San Juan Hills

San Clemente Girls Soccer Finishes Early, Moves into First Place with Shutout of San Juan Hills

January 28, 2023
Artifex Releases Beer ‘Created by AI, Brewed by Humans’

Artifex Releases Beer ‘Created by AI, Brewed by Humans’

January 27, 2023
Calvada

Planning Commission Gives Go-Ahead to Mixed-Use Development South of Downtown

January 27, 2023
Next Post

SC Sheriff's Blotter: Man Claims People Yelled Racial Slurs at Him, Said 'Go Back to Your Own Country'

Discussion about this post

No Result
View All Result

SC Times Daily
Get important news and updates delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

Subscriptions
Don’t get the SC Times delivered to your home? Subscribe today.

Advertising
Get new customers and drive traffic to your business. Advertise with us.

Support Local Journalism
For less than the cost of a couple of cups of coffee a month, become an “Insider” member and continue to get “Local News You Can Use” from the only independently owned, dedicated local news organization in South Orange County.

Contribute today.

Picket Fence Media is a proud member of the SoCal Media Network.

  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Dana Point Times
  • The Capistrano Dispatch
  • Terms of Use
  • About Us

© 2023 Picket Fence Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • Money Matters
    • Best of San Clemente
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Triton Football Preview
    • Go See Do
    • The Green Issue
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who

© 2023 Picket Fence Media