Paso Robles News|Friday, March 29, 2024
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Mayor’s message: Strive to be people of compassion with a desire for justice 

Mayor Steve Martin

Mayor Steve Martin

By Steve Martin
Mayor of Paso Robles

–I don’t have to tell you it’s a crazy world out there. Just as we’re climbing out of the coronavirus pit the nation is thrown into violent protests over incidents of police brutality.

We watch the stories unfold of rioting and looting and cannot help but wonder “can it happen here.” The vision of fires blazing and storefronts breached is a horrific one and one that must never be realized in our city. Just last weekend we saw reason to hope when a small, peaceful group assembled in our downtown park. Their expressions of concern were sincere and well-received.

Our police chief, Ty Lewis, addressed them with a message that served to underscore our desire to support all citizens of our community, regardless of race or ethnicity. This is who we, as Roblans, we strive to be people of compassion with a desire for justice and a dedication to seeing it realized without the violence experienced in so many other communities across our nation. Our public safety officers embody that desire and dedication. Our council believes in that desire and dedication. Justice for one is justice for all. Injustice for one is injustice for all.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”

It is my fervent hope that we stay united as a community and, just as we have flattened the curve of COVID-19 virus, we will strive to bend the arc of the moral universe more rapidly towards justice for all. And, as with every other great task we undertake, this will be accomplished when we stand together as citizens, as neighbors, in strength and in peace. Now is the time for personal reflection on how each of us can join that effort.

Please take that time for yourself and share your thoughts, concerns and hopes with your friends and your neighbors. “We are all in this together” has never rung more truly than it does today. Don’t let us be separated by fear, ignorance and violence.

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