When the Headlines Speak Our Truths: Reflections on the 7/26 CBS Weekend News
There are moments when the news feels like a distant storm, passing over lives we’ve never known. Then there are days when it lands square in your backyard—opening old wounds, demanding attention, and calling us to ask: What kind of community are we really building? That’s how I felt watching the CBS Weekend News on July 26th. It wasn’t just another broadcast. It was a mirror held up to the truths many of us live with daily but are too often ignored.
More Than a News Report—It Was a Wake-Up Call
That Saturday’s CBS Weekend segment hit on multiple currents sweeping through not just our country, but right here in our neighborhoods. From stories of veteran homelessness to increasing concerns about public safety, to underrepresented voices in local government decisions—it covered it all. And if you were paying attention, you saw the connection between each story.
CBS reported on a growing number of veterans unable to access proper housing and mental health services, despite promises made by the very institutions that sent them into service. As a veteran myself, that part stung. I know what it’s like to hold up your end of the deal, only to find the system doesn’t remember yours. We’re expected to return from war, flip the switch, and blend back into society as if nothing ever happened. But it doesn’t work that way. Not for me. Not for any of us.
“They Served With Honor, Now They Fight For Shelter”
One story featured a former Marine living out of his van with his service dog after repeated denials from local housing authorities due to “insufficient documentation.” He wasn’t looking for a handout—just a chance to rebuild. I saw myself in him. And I saw our country failing, again, to live up to its side of the bargain.
I remember lining up at the VA clinic, waiting four hours just for a routine appointment. I recall the stares when I used my veteran ID to apply for housing in an HOA community, only to be questioned and ridiculed by the board for how I looked, or how I talked. Prejudice wears a lot of masks. CBS may have only had a few minutes to tell the story, but that veteran’s eyes told volumes.
Bureaucracy Is a Barrier to Justice
Another segment of the news zeroed in on broken local systems—from housing and healthcare to basic animal control and safety enforcement. This one dug into some scandals and inefficiencies widening the gap between “the system” and the people it’s supposed to serve. Sound familiar?
Time and again, I’ve fought with my local HOA regarding discriminatory treatment, odd fines, and intimidation tactics for sticking up for myself. I’ve called animal control multiple times about unleashed dogs threatening my safety—only to be dismissed because “it wasn’t an emergency.” Same for code enforcement. Same for community leaders unwilling to show up when it’s a “Melvin Coates issue.”
CBS called these issues “structural vulnerabilities.” But I call them personal. They don’t just cost time and money—they chip away at dignity. They hope that if they make it hard enough, we’ll just go away.
“If Someone Like Me Can Fall Through the Cracks, What About Those With No Voice?”
I was raised to believe in justice, in country, in speaking the truth even when your voice shakes. Some days I still believe in those things. But watching the broadcast reminded me how many are still fighting their battles in silence—people without internet, without community, without energy left to make one more phone call that leads to nowhere.
CBS spotlighted a single mom battling eviction over a technicality. She said, “They told me I didn’t file one piece of paper. But I’ve got a stack of letters asking for help nobody ever answered.” That’s not just her story—it’s our story.
We Need News That Doesn’t Just Inform—But Empowers
There’s something powerful about seeing your lived experience reflected on national television. It says, “You’re not invisible.” But it also says, “Now that you see it, what will you do?”
CBS did more than report the news—they hit a nerve. Not just because they told hard truths, but because they exposed what happens when we stop paying attention to the people right next door.
Here’s What I’m Asking You
Start small—but start. Talk to a neighbor. Check if that veteran down the block is okay. Show up at the next town hall meeting. Write your local representatives and don’t be afraid to name the failures. Even better, share your own story.
That’s what I’m doing here every week. Not for fame. Not for drama. But because silence becomes permission.