Editorial

Americans are exceedingly egocentric. We like to characterize that trait as bold, strong and upright but it is little more than shockingly puerile. There is nothing redeemable about a lack of concern for others. There are now about 80 million people who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination but have so far refused to get the shots.

The accidental death of 17-year-old Alonzo J. Polk IV, who drowned in a swimming pool last June at the home of a Dedham High School classmate, is indeed a tragedy. The grief-stricken family is inadvertently creating the impression that the misadventure is somehow race-related.

Economic development by Blacks has been so rare that there is usually a joyous expression when a sizable Black project matures and comes to fruition. There are several reasons for exultation among Blacks with the recent ribbon-cutting of the new Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport.

Over the years the U.S. spent an estimated $2.2 trillion in Afghanistan to train and equip its military force and to help build a nation. However, Afghanistan seems to desire a nation run by competing warlords. It seems to work for them.

Now there is a real chance to establish Boston as one of the nation’s truly metropolitan cities. Andrea Campbell and acting mayor Kim Janey both score high enough in the polls, especially when considering the undecided, for at least one to win in the preliminary. But if both win, a new Boston is assured.

Everyone expects politicians to exaggerate. A hyper-positive pose is what successful politicians assume. However, Republicans have taken this to an exorbitant level that so distorts the truth that many voters will find it difficult to determine what they should support. The most damaging example of this is Donald Trump’s insistence that he won the presidential election but his victory has been denied by fraud and corruption.

Even though Donald Trump lost the electoral vote to Joe Biden, 306 to 232, Trump insisted that he really won, and the election was stolen. Millions of voters believed this claim, but Judge Linda V. Parker of the federal district court in Detroit might finally have issued the decision that resolves a legal dispute on the matter.

Despite the years of military training and the latest weapons donated by the U.S., Afghanistan forces did not have the will to combat the Taliban.

In today’s battle for survival against Covid-19, self-centered citizens refuse to receive a cost free inoculation that will secure their fellow Americans from a horrible disease as well as save their own lives.

The effort in red states to restrict Black citizens from voting is the greatest danger now faced by Blacks. Most Americans would prefer to be able to take voting for granted, but everyone understands that if the right to vote is negated, America can no longer claim to be a democracy. This issue is so significant it may seem to be unreasonable to expect Blacks to be concerned about Black corporate CEOs just now.

Only 500 individuals can serve as the Fortune 500 CEOs in any year. It was not until 1987 that Roxbury’s Clifton R. Wharton became one of this select group of business leaders and thereby broke the color barrier.

Rather than bemoan the loss of Rollins in the district attorney’s office, this is the time to petition Governor Charlie Baker to appoint a replacement who will continue with the changes that Rollins has initiated.