Birdwatcher
You demonstrate the lamentable trend of associating or mistaking security with liberty. They are distinctly different. I as correctly stated, the idea of oraganized law enforcement is an entirely modern concept. For most of human history there were no organized police forces and we got along fine. You correctly noted that there were many instances of violence and other corruption that occurred in the past and used those past crimes as justification for our current law enforcement system. In order for this view to make sense, you would need to demonstrate how things are better now. Human nature being what it is, there has been and always will be predators. It may be safer to travel today than it was 200 years ago, but back then one didn't have to worry about his 13 year-old daughter being kidnapped by some sicko she met on the Internet. You may have been more likely to be Shanghaied and sold into slavery on a ship 200 years ago, but you didn't have to worry about your wife being abducted by a serial killer who could be at your home today and 1000 miles away in a few hours. The fact is, bad things happened then and they happen now. Increased law enforcement has not reduced overall crime one bit. The only difference between then and now is that in every city, county, and state of the United States there are police agencies that have the power to enter into your home, with very little probable cause, arrest you and shoot you if you resist. They could be dead wrong, but if you resist you will be shot just the same and the question will be as to why you resisted instead of why they were there. I do not view this as a favorable development. You have faith that government and its enforcers can make things better, I do not. Only two things can result in the end. Either the government enforcers will become frustrated at their inability to stop evil human behavior and seek powers that ultimately errode all of our rights in an attempt to stop evil doers, or they will become outright evil themselves and seek the power for its own sake. Either one is bad for you and me.
As to your naive view that the Feds are cleaning up local enforcement, you are mistaken. It amounts to two criminal gangs going at each other and the Feds are the most powerful. Sure, that is an overdramatization, but an increased Federal presence is bad for you and me.
Finally, much of your view of authority rests with your culture and ancestory. Mine is Scots-Irish from the Southern U.S.. No culture has a healthier disrespect for authority from Old Country right up to the present. Government is viewed much differently in the Northeast where the old Puritan influence of knowing what is best for ones neighbors and using government to see that they get it is strong. Hispanics and Blacks have a more trusting view of authority and look to the Federal level since they feel they have been held down by local elites.
Sure, these are generalizations, but I do believe they generally hold true <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. Now, the real question is is it right for a powerful central government to hold all of the disparate elements together when they may have different ideas about government? My country went to war to have a say in how we ruled ourselves and we were brought back kicking and screaming at the barrel of a gun. Our central philosophy in our government now is the old Puritan streak of doing what is best for your neighbor whether he wants it or not. That is the philosophy in our policing as well. That is what I hate. I hate the condescending attitude that I need protection whether I realize it or not. I hate the guys who say, "Just wait until you need us...or "you have no idea what it is like". To me, it is all part of the "We know what is best for you crowd". All I want is to be left alone and I will leave others alone. I am quite capable of defending myself and my family. I do not want someone to enforce laws. I believe police forces should be limited to investigatory agencies not enforcement agencies. I do not want someone who can arrest me or give me a ticket for shooting a pellet gun in my backyard. Sure, if I misuse it and hit someone, then I can be sued and made to pay seriously, but not some busybody who masquerades behind the notion of "Community Protection". I find police an insult to my notion of what a free man should have to endure. My view towards crime is that if it does no harm to others, then sin away. I am for complete social and economic liberty. I hate Liberals and Conservatives equally. Liberals want social freedom but want to reach into my pocket to give it. Conservatives say they want economic freedom but seldom deliver and they worry too much about that someone may be having a good time somewhere. If someone wants to kill themselves with heroin, it is not my place to tell them they can't. I don't think it is right and they will be held accountable by God, but I am not God, and neither is the Government (something many seem to forget). Likewise, don't force me pay taxes so that some ingrate can have a check because he is too lazy to work or his parents didn't teach him how. If you don't work, you shouldn't eat.
I want to be left alone, and for that, I will work hard, be productive, be charitable towards my fellow citizens, and strive to treat others as I would be treated. It just seems that to many people are concerned with if the neighbor might have a nasty cocaine habit, or he is driving 80 in a 70, or something else. Mind your own business and you will be amazed at how much easier things are. The police are the instrument that the busybodies use to intrude upon our lives.
But because I want to be left alone, treat others as I wish to be treated, accord no man any special respect until he has demonstrated why it should be so, disdain badges of human authority, and don't care what my neighbor does as long as it doesn't hurt me or my family, I am the crazy one and the one who is out of place in the modern world. Hopefully, the end is near.
