--- description: We need to notice and be aware of the injustices embedded in our criminal justice system. title: Sen. Rand Paul: Break Down the Wall That Separates Us From the 'Other America' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfc7df4f619e4f67/69877aae3c1639607945141f/black-lives-matter-race.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [politics](/tag/politics/) ## politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sen. Rand Paul: Break Down the Wall That Separates Us From the 'Other America'  by [Rand Paul](/author/sen-rand-paul/)  ## Rand Paul Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2015 12:30 PM CUT  Protesters stand during a demonstration against the chokehold death of Eric Garner in Foley Square in New York City on Dec. 4, 2014. Protesters stand during a demonstration against the chokehold death of Eric Garner in Foley Square in New York City on Dec. 4, 2014.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  by [Rand Paul](/author/sen-rand-paul/)  ## Rand Paul Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2015 12:30 PM CUT In his 1967 address to Stanford University, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of two Americas. He described them as, “two starkly different American experiences that exist side by side.” In one America, people experienced “the opportunity of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in all its dimensions.” In the other America, people experienced a “daily ugliness” that dashes hope and leaves only “the fatigue of despair.” The uneasy coexistence of the two Americas is brought to bear by the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Although I was born into the America that experiences and believes in opportunity, my trips to Ferguson, Detroit, Atlanta, and Chicago have revealed that there is an undercurrent of unease. ### Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision  A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014. Jason DeCrow—AP  Protestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  Demonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Regina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty Images  Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  Anwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  A demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  Demonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images  Protestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—Reuters  Protesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—Polaris  Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Police officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—AP  A man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters  Atlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  A demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters Congressman John Lewis, who heroically marched in Selma, still sees two Americas. He [writes](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/michael-brown-eric-garner-other-america-john-lewis/383750/ "undefined"): “One group of people in this country can expect the institutions of government to bend in their favor, no matter that they are supposedly regulated by impartial law.” The other group: “\[C\]hildren, fathers, mothers, uncles, grandfathers . . . are swept up like rubbish by the hard unforgiving hand of the law. They are offered no lenience, even for petty offenses, in a system that seems hell-bent on warehousing them by the millions . . . while others escape the consequences of pervasive malfeasance scot-free.” We need to notice and be aware of the injustices embedded in our criminal system. However, we shouldn’t be misled to believe that excessive force is the norm, not the exception. I believe that most police are conscientious and want only to provide safety for us. The blame should be directed to the laws and the politicians who order police into untenable positions, that insist on “taking down” someone for selling a couple of untaxed cigarettes. Our pursuit of justice should not obscure the fact that on many occasions, good people do step forward to find justice. This past fall, [Helen Johnson](http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/12/tarrant%5Fpolice%5Fofficer%5Fdeliver.html "undefined") was desperate to feed her two daughters and their small children who had gone two days without food. When she got to the store, she discovered that the $1.25 she had was not enough to buy eggs. She was a mere fifty cents short, so she stuffed the eggs in her pocket. Helen didn’t even make it out of the store before the police were notified. When Police Officer William Stacy arrived, something special happened. Instead of handcuffing Helen and taking her to jail, he used discretion and compassion to mete out justice. He warned Helen not to steal again and he bought her the eggs himself. Helen saw Officer Stacy again on Thanksgiving Day. He delivered a truckload of groceries to Helen’s home. Her grandchildren were overjoyed and proclaimed that they had never seen so much food in all their lives. It isn’t hard to find injustice around us, but we must not let injustice smear the good deeds that do occur everyday. I am optimistic, but peace will only come when those of us who have enjoyed the American Dream become more aware of those who are missing out on the Dream. The future of our country will be secure when we break down the wall that separates us from “the other America.” Let’s commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King by uniting the two Americas into one: an America that includes justice for one, and justice for all. _Paul is the junior U.S. Senator for Kentucky._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3671819/sen-rand-paul-eric-garner-and-michael-brown-and-the-uneasy-coexistence-of-two-americas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3671819/sen-rand-paul-eric-garner-and-michael-brown-and-the-uneasy-coexistence-of-two-americas/"},"headline":"Sen. 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