Most of us are old enough to remember McGruff the Crime Dog where among other things citizens were encouraged to call a tipline to report to the Authorities any criminal activity that they may have witnessed or were aware of and that your identity would remain confidential.
And of course by “crime” things like robbery, assault, drug dealing, extortion, etc. come to mind. But in these trying times of top down lockdown certain Governors and Mayors have embraced their inner totalitarian urges and have establish snitch hotlines for citizens to inform on each other for the crime of exercising their rights under the Constitution.
The true tragedy is not that government bureaucrats want people to inform on their neighbors, it’s that so many people are eager to do the informing. Totalitarian systems are a lot easier to defeat than the internalized totalitarian mindset that we have seen in socialist countries around the world.
What is equally disturbing is that many police departments and some individual cops have taken the bullying police state tactics that they may have always wanted to display but had never until had the blessing of their bosses.
As with all professions other than those that are leftist by definition, such as being an “activist,” whether to promote community, sex, race, sexuality, etc., police and sheriff departments attract a broad range of people. Fortunately, most American police and sheriffs want to serve the community by helping people in times of need and making the community a safe place for everyone through enforcing legitimate laws. They really are the good guys.
However, law enforcement can attract people with an authoritarian streak. I’ve certainly met police officers who enjoy the raw power that comes with the job. In addition, to the extent that law enforcement is a heavily unionized government job, many people working in the field have been drifting left because that’s where their economic interests lie.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” Ronald Reagan
“If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide“ A. Lincoln
The jury on America’s future is still out. The next 10-15 years may tell the story. Either way I will likely not be here to witness it. Which may be a good thing.