The streets of Ferguson, Missouri, are relatively quiet now, as the riots and looting have largely been quelled. Yet Monday marks an important event – Michael Brown’s funeral, where the race-baiting “Reverend” Al Sharpton is delivering the eulogy as we go to press.

Michael Brown Sr., the slain man’s father, asked, “I would like for no protesting going on. We just want a moment of silence that whole day, just out of respect for our son.” We hope citizens honor his request and the funeral doesn’t become a political charade.

But Sharpton made clear Sunday that he will continue to pursue his agenda. “I think that what we can say is that we must turn this moment into a movement to really deal with the underlying issues of police accountability and what is and is not allowable by police, and what citizens ought to be moving toward,” he said. “I think that we need to deal with how we move toward solutions, how we deal with the whole aggressive policing of what is considered low-level crimes.” Sharpton may have a point when he says the police response was troublesome, but he also largely misses the point – cultural rot.

Police actions were indeed at the center of the original dispute. Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown six times. Even weeks later, however, details of the shooting are unclear, including the extent of any injuries Wilson suffered and whether he had legitimate cause for shooting Brown. And the subsequent police response to the violence only exacerbated the situation.

Yet inner city culture, with its systemic poverty, high unemployment, gang culture and broken families, is the real problem.

So-called protesters have insisted the shooting was due to racism, but they have no proof to substantiate their claims. In reality, it ended up serving merely as an opportunity to loot convenience stores while spreading Democrats’ classist and racist themes.

Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. (D-MO), who represents Ferguson, did his part to inflame tensions, declaring, “I’m more concerned if we do not get to the truth and get to what actually happened and bring justice to this situation, then there’s going to be a problem in the streets.” In saying so, he joins other prominent Democrats, including Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, in condemning Officer Wilson before the facts are known. Nixon said, “I ask that we continue to stand together as we work to achieve justice for Michael Brown.”

Justice includes the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven.

To Democrats and the thugs on their poverty plantations, however, “justice” means getting something for nothing. Clay and Nixon are doing little but more articulately saying the same thing as their constituents. CBS interviewed three young black men in Ferguson who blamed police for the unrest and demanded jobs so they don’t have to loot any more. “If they [businesses] don’t restore the community,” said one, “there’s going to be hell to pay.” Another added, “That’s why people looting [sic] – ‘cause they can’t get no jobs.” Unemployment for young black men in Ferguson is 46%, caused in part by the complete cultural breakdown of family and education. That in turn results in practically illiterate and bitter men with all the time in the world to cause trouble.

But violence and looting probably aren’t the best qualifications to put on a résumé.

Perhaps these men should direct some of their ire at Barack Obama and the Democrat Party. Blacks have been a monolithic vote for Democrats for the last 50 years. Where has this “Great Society” gotten them?

Dr. Ben Carson, a rising conservative star and a black man, says the issue is one of “personal responsibility,” and that while jobs are key, people still must “take control of their own lives.” Indeed, Liberty won’t survive without a moral people who take on that personal responsibility. The worst part is Democrats are working to destroy morality, create dependence and undermine Liberty.