Hope in the Mist of Wrong-doing

Recently, local news has broken out about a Detroit City scandal. Some of this news has even reached the national news circuit with ABC World News airing a segment last night.

As I was made aware of this situation, my heart was saddened by the news of the scandal. However, during the unfortunate turn of events that has added to the already ailing Detroit area (e.g. currently also holding one of the highest unemployment rates and foreclosure rates), I heard someone make a comment that shed a light on a sign of hope. Hope for the future of Detroit.The hope I speak of came in the form of a statement by our former Deputy Police Chief, Gary Brown. During a small interview, it was revealed that Mr. Gary Brown was wrongfully fired from his position as Deputy Police Chief. He was investigating allegations of misconduct regarding the Detroit City Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. As a result of recently released documents, it does in fact appear that Mr. Gary Brown was wrongfully discharged. Prior to this, he held honors in his position including a Purple Heart award.

I began to feel compassion for Mr. Gary Brown and what he had been going through. The manner in which he was fired, the court hearings he participated in, and how he is now in Florida as a result. I expected Mr. Brown to be very angry and spiteful toward the mayor and the city of Detroit. However, what I witnessed was a very confident man who believed in himself and in the city of Detroit, despite the fact of the recent scandalous events. In fact, he told the interviewer that he would like to come back to Detroit and run for Sheriff’s Office.

I found this to be a very inspiring moment as I watched someone who was “wronged” and yet he was still finding “hope” in his future.

Finding a little hope in a situation where someone feels they were either hurt or “wronged” by another can be very empowering. Understandably there may be a time to work through the anger and hurt feelings of being betrayed or disrespected. However, eventually finding some bit of hope, and then focusing most of one’s energy on that hope, can result in optimistic feelings and rewarding results.

Hopeful wishes everyone!