As a former police officer and a human being who abhors racial discrimination, cold malevolent indifference and police brutality I have struggled to find a path forward to a constructive result to this all-too frequent cycle of violence.

While the anger and frustration that manifests itself in rioting and destruction can be explained and even excused as a desparate plea to be heard by people who do not feel they are heard or considered in any other way, it is not a way forward.

While policing has always been considered a quintessentially local activity, it is evident that the impacts of bad policing, while occurring locally, has national implications and thus warrants a national response.

Accordingly, I think the U.S. Congress should enact a "Police Professionals Performance Act" which would establish minimum training and accountability standards for all law enforcement officers nationwide.

While it has always been true that the vast majority of police officers are hard working decent civil servants, the profession has always been marred by the so-called "bad apple" police officer who is written off as the unfortunate exception.

It is time we start treating policing as a profession that is so vitally important that we cannot accept even a single "bad apple." This requires greater uniformity in standards and accepted practices and an expectation of professionalism that is well-deserved and necessary.

This surely will not put an end to all of the associated problems, but it would be a constructive national step in the right direction. It takes a sad song and it makes it better, better for police, better for those who may be victimized by police, better for us all. Peace out.