The brutal death of George Floyd in police custody on May 25 is a deeply painful, horrific injustice felt not only in the hearts of Americans but anyone who bears a shred of humanity.
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To read a transcript of his words in the moments of his death, to watch a video of the cold violence to which he was submitted, to read a news report of the fatal crushing of yet another African American life at the hands of law enforcement, is to feel a rage at the cruelty, racism and inequality that prevails in the United States.
In the grounds of conflict that have replaced the hum of urban life in the US, police are directing their force against peaceful protesters, and journalists (including Australians) witnessing and documenting events. Protests have turned violent, and business owners have had their livelihoods attacked.
The chaotic scenes of civil unrest, police violence, protest and looting brings the resilience of the US social fabric into question.
It is far from clear what kind of nation will emerge from the tumult. Protesters, state governments and President Donald Trump are locked in a fight for the soul of the nation.
The success of those who wish to stop police brutality, end the entrenched racism and inequality, and restore the US to justice and peace is uncertain.
In the vacuum of national leadership left by President Trump, who appears incapable of anything but inflaming the situation to his own ends, there's a need for others to guide the nation.
Such leaders who step up to the task must direct the transformative energy of those who want change into peaceful ways, and help Americans to grieve.
Some leaders, like former president Barack Obama, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and state-level officials are trying to do just that. If they fail, there's a risk that President Trump will remake the nation even more to his liking: irreconcilably divided, ridden with conflict, its institutions weakened and vulnerable to his anti-democratic instincts.
If Australians respond to the injustice of George Floyd's death with honesty, it will bring them to confront the violent racism against Indigenous Australians that exists in our own nation.
Australia has a shameful history of Aboriginal deaths in custody, one that has unfolded in the face of blithe indifference on the part of many non-Indigenous Australians.
As a nation, we must search our own soul, and act to end the injustice prevalent in Australia, even as we condemn racist violence against African Americans in the US.
There is another question for Australians watching the fracture of America's social and political life.
The US, so long the world's pre-eminent democracy, is in a profound crisis that is testing the foundations of its system of government.
It is a disturbing fact that President Trump has threatened to deploy the military to stop protests, and that police are arresting or behaving violently towards journalists.
These developments are signs of a fraying democracy.
There is a need for faith in the power of democracy, too.
President Obama and state leaders are right to call for those wanting change to channel their anger in non-violent ways.
Time and again, democracies have proven themselves able to transform and improve by peaceful means: the ballot box, peaceful demonstrations, opinion pieces written by those exercising their right to free speech, to name some.
The violence erupting in America signals, in part, a lack of belief among some that change can happen by peaceful and democratic means.
However, American democracy must rise to the challenge, and restore that faith.
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That's a task in which all Americans will have to participate.
Australia has long found a like-minded ally in the US, one that shares its values of democracy, freedom and equality. It is partly why our nation is watching the events so closely.
Anyone who values democracy will hope the US emerges from this chapter of its history with its promise of liberty, equality, justice and the rule of law better realised.
