Insightful article about the funeral for four Oakland police officers, who were killed doing their job last week. The author provides a factual account of this moving event, and adds his own perspective on what we as citizens can do to solve some of the problems that caused this tragedy. Thoughtful and compelling argument for social change, which transcends this local drama into a civic call to action in all of our lives.

True excellence in journalism is when the reporter takes you to places you otherwise would not be able to visit, when you are able, through the reporter's efforts, to understand something that otherwise would have remained hidden. This story is so close to me that I cried reading it, but even if it were not close I think I would have done that anyway. I was at the Oracle yesterday, and this article tells it like it was.