by erikbruce

Common Sense Justice Reform

As a former member of law enforcement (deputy district attorney) with more than 25 years’ experience in the criminal justice system, I’ve had the opportunity to see the formative years that have led to the recent protests. Having also taught a college course on race since 2008, I’ve long maintained there is no mystery what could be done to reform the way we mete out justice. Some suggestions....

by erikbruce

Race in America

This fall, I’ve been asked to teach a college history course entitled Race, Ethnicity and Gender in American Culture. Each time I teach any history course I try to make it relevant to current events hopefully providing some opportunity for understanding how we arrived at our current place in time. Past themes have included an examination of how we remember the Civil War, the ongoing American...

by erikbruce

History and Human Nature

In John Toland’s 1970 Pulitzer Prize winning book The Rising Sun, the author details the role of the Japanese Empire in starting and prosecuting the Second World War. Toland also noted America’s role stating, “every American would have to accept a share of the blame. The disaster was caused by a national unwillingness to face facts of a world torn from its stable course after World War I by...

by erikbruce

Covid 19 and Concentration Camps

In February 1942, responding to fears of an invisible enemy within, President Roosevelt issued executive order 9066 condemning 120,000 persons of Japanese descent to ten concentration camps in the American interior. Nisei, native born United States citizens of Japanese descent, represented two-thirds of those interned.   By 1943, Nisei could win their release by pledging loyalty and taking a...