August 11, 2020 By Christopher West
The American system cannot function without local government. Our federal government is responsible for foreign policy and regulating commerce, but the decisions that have the most direct, immediate impact upon our daily lives are left to the states, and by extension, the leaders of our local communities to whom much -- too much -- authority has been delegated. Local government has one of the greatest responsibilities within the American system: the security and protection of Americans. It falls upon local government, using local law enforcement, to protect our lives, liberty, and property.
Responsive, responsible local government can be a blessing: potholes are repaired, crime is curbed and businesses thrive. Unresponsive, irresponsible local government is a nightmare. In the past several weeks, we have seen far too much of the latter. Indeed, the most significant unmasking caused by the ongoing riots and the ongoing pandemic scare, has been the complete ineffectualness of many of our local governments and politicians.
When there is an instance of the police failing to protect and serve because of an institutional or ethical breakdown from within, it is a problem that needs to be rectified and made subject to reform. When the police are unable to effectively protect and serve all citizens because of budgetary woes, it is a problem that needs to be solved at the ballot box by the election of persons who know how to balance a budget and properly discern what is, and more importantly what isn’t, an essential role of government.
When the police are ordered not to protect and serve, but rather to ignore criminal acts, it is a damning indictment of local government and the leaders who inhabit its narrow-minded halls. When local government acts to defund, even dismantle, law enforcement, it is the undemocratic repudiation of the natural rights of law-abiding citizens and proof positive that our local leaders in government are lacking in the necessary courage and discernment required to lead........To Read More...
No comments:
Post a Comment