[mlc0908]

There's no question that crime plagues the entire nation and is more highly concentrated in cities and urban areas, but what are the real reasons for this? Larger populations, higher poverty rates and what appears to be an overall neglect of responsibility by local and state authority figures to implement working solutions-these are all a part of the equation, however IMHO I believe we are one of our worst enemies when it comes to violence and black on black crimes.

Although many of us may be born into poverty and raised in less than perfect environments, we still are left with choices. It's up to each and every individual whether to succumb to the implied pressures, fall into the trap and be another statistic which is what's expected of us or opt to embrace, love, respect and protect our brothers and sisters while using otherwise wasted time, attention, energy and resources to grow and uplift our communities in the face of the opposition.

We dont need to give credit to some crooked mayor or governor for lowering crime rated in our neighborhoods through incarceration, penalties and/or fines. Nor should we give them any excuses or reasons that serve as justification for neglecting to tend to our issues.