On the Road…Again!!!
Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek

Please Explain Yourself

If someone asks you to “please explain yourself”, it is likely within a setting in which someone wants an answer to an issue that personally involved you.  The one wanting or demanding an answer may or may not be hostile, but at least they gave you an opportunity to clear the air, and on your own terms.  The situation might be a difficult one to navigate to their satisfaction, but if we are to be exonerated in our own minds, we have to try and to make it convincing.  Second thoughts might be worthless if there is no second chance.  Worse yet, if you are not given a second chance.  Life is not always fair.  That is why anyone who truly wants to be fair, should be patient and give you a second chance to explain.

Lawyers should be skilled in understanding the situations in which we might be accused of something, and they should make it a routine to ask us to tell them everything they need to know.  Knowing the facts might seem to be obvious and seemingly objective but explaining ourselves to a lawyer (or to our parents) is also a vital part of the whole story.  Explaining a deed is one thing, but the reasons or the circumstances surrounding the deed may be another thing.  So much for a presumptive court case, replete with the facts and reasons explained.

When it comes to explaining oneself about feelings of love for another, you may not be asked to explain yourself, even if those feelings stay with you for months or years.  Short term amorous relationships, on the other hand, also have feelings that might be begging to be explained.  In such circumstances, you might be asking yourself to explain.  No, it is unlikely that you will look into a mirror and say, “please explain yourself” but you will likely be inquiring of your inner self what is causing these feelings.  

In contemporary US politics, when an ICE agent apprehends a suspected illegal alien, that suspect might be read their Miranda rights, but they may not fully grasp what their rights are.  Many a coerced confession came about when a suspect did not or could not explain themselves, regardless of their facility with words in a language that may not be their native language. The circumstances are fraught with potential injustice.  And the daily encounters with ICE agents are becoming more numerous.

To identify an ICE agent, look for official identification, such as a badge or card with their name, photo, and the ICE logo. ICE agents may also wear plain clothes or uniforms that say "POLICE" or "Department of Homeland Security"

The Footloose Forester is not picking on ICE agents, nor is he defending illegal aliens (among other suspects) who might deserve to be arrested.  He is merely sharing his fears that too often, suspects may be at a distinct disadvantage when stopped and asked to identify themselves and then to explain themselves.  But chances are the ICE agents will not say please.