Even though Joe Biden isn’t my first choice for the Democratic nominee, I have a real problem with candidates going after him for things he said 30 to 40 years ago. Times were different back then, and people can—and should!—change. Let’s be honest: if you are over the age of 50 (no matter what your sex or race), you said something in the distant past that would be seen as culturally insensitive today.
With that in mind, I’m encouraged at how rapidly values are changing for the better in recent years. Granted, Republicans still want to return us to the 1950s, but forget about them for the moment. Other than this four-year blip of deep-darkness, America is moving forward on valuing the rights of women, minorities, and people of differing sexual orientations.
One value I would like to see take root is that of “slow murders” being equal to those that happen rapidly. Right now slow murders are perfectly legal, because they are the cost of making billions. Someday, if we ever become truly advanced, the corporate bigwigs who kill people slowly—via polluting our environment—will go to jail, just like murderers who kill quickly via knife or gun.