By Ken Gulley

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”

Rahm Emmanuel

As Democrats, and some Republicans, quickly jump to flex their authoritarian muscles during this unprecedented pandemic and economic crisis; Democrats have also been quick to push forward the old idea of nationwide mail-in elections for state primaries and Federal elections. (1)

In the name of “public safety” of course.

By Joshua Weigert
April 11, 2020
(Header Image: Anadolou Agency via Getty Images)

Yesterday, I was stunned to see a video of a man in Philadelphia being forcibly removed from a bus because he was not wearing a face mask. There is no actual law enforcing people wearing face masks, but that didn’t stop law enforcement from manhandling him off the bus. It was a totalitarian and authoritarian move. I then read and watched more and more videos and articles of governors and mayors enforcing strict decrees infringing on the rights of their constituents. It seems surreal. America, where freedom and liberty is absolutely paramount, is now a land where citizen’s rights are being chipped away all in the name of security.

The topic of the week, and no doubt, the topic anytime we experience such heinous tragedies like the one that took place at a Parkland HS in Florida, is the issue of guns. No doubt, any loss of life is a tragedy, but losing 17 at once in a place where we Americans send our young ones is completely unacceptable.

Since that incident, new agencies have rolled out mountains of articles with lofty and emotional rhetoric but very little facts concerning the truth behind gun control’s success or lack there of. In fact much of the debate is centered around emotional responses as opposed to finding practical things that will truly work.

Introduction

Here it is, and I will do my best to keep it short.

I don’t excuse bad policing or racist policing for that matter. As an officer, getting rid of those in our ranks who operate in such a manner is beneficial to the society and to good police officers alike. I also know from experience how important it is to put aside our bias or prejudice in favor of a clean slate. It’s taught in academies nationwide and its reinforced daily on each and every call for service. It’s something civilians also must be mindful in examining police actions.

Inconvenient Truths
Life presents a myriad of challenges. When we first enter the world, the first obstacle we all experience is taking our first breath in our new womb-less world. If we could process it, we would almost immediately discover that this world isn’t built on fairness and equality but rather competition & survival. Some time ago, a savvy scientist labeled this observation, “survival of the fittest.” For man, life is no different than it is for the beast if you ignore man’s ability to reason. But there in lies the problem, man can reason.