This one wonders whether we have indeed entered a downward spiral towards a national breakdown in law and order. The catalyst may have happened last weekend in New York City, where two police officers sitting in their patrol car were murdered by a man who claimed, via social media, that he was going to “put wings on pigs”. According to some – including the NYC police union leadership – the “trail of blood” leads directly to NYC Mayor DeBlasio, whose recent statements about the police have been both provocative and confrontational. Chants of “put wings on pigs” are now being heard by protesters – videos have been posted to many media sites.

Lately, this one sees a sea change in attitude toward the police. Instead of being held up as the defenders of freedom, they are being held up as targets on which people are encouraged to take out their frustration. They are seen as expendable government representatives whose murders are merely expressions of displeasure with the status quo. They are not seen as fathers or mothers with families and children, but as objects whose very presence is offensive.

In NYC and nationally, police are being warned to wear their Kevlar vests even off-duty. They are being told to stay in their patrol cars even during their breaks. They are being told to avoid making arrests no matter what crime was committed. They are receiving instructions that run counter to their mantra “to serve and protect”. In fact, these new rules of engagement seem to say “if you try to do your job, you will be a target and die”.

The “Reverend” Sharpton, the “Reverend” Jackson, the child-king Obama and his evil Minister of Truth Holder, the liberal media (MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc), and local government functionaries such as NYC Mayor DeBlasio all blame law enforcement for doing the job of enforcing the law. They refuse to recognize that the recent deaths of criminals in Ferguson and NYC were due to the criminals resisting arrest. These “community leaders” point at the police for doing their jobs, but never at the criminals for violating the law.

Yes, there are few bad apples in police departments across the nation, and they need to be removed from the force. Ask other officers on the force and they will agree: those bad officers bring shame on the rest of the department and should be fired. However, the overwhelming majority of police officers are good people who hope that their mere presence is enough to prevent crime. And for the most part in in most communities, their presence is enough to maintain order.

This one believes that there are only two paths ahead for our society. The first path leads back to a recognition that the police are only a tool to help us maintain our own cities and towns, and that we must reestablish the concepts of “responsibility for your own actions” and “respect for the law”. The second path leads on to anarchy, a breakdown in society, lawlessness, and an “everyone for themselves” attitude.

We are already traveling down the second path. Whether it is too late to reverse course is based on whether the “powers that be” are willing to acknowledge their part in choosing that path.

Most people in this country find what happened to the two NYPD officers murdered in their patrol car recently to be brutal, heinous, a dastardly and disgusting act. Having been “on the job” for 23 years allows one to have a special sense of kinship with law enforcement officers everywhere, active or retired.

I am sure practically all citizens of New York City share reactions to this incident ranging from being deeply troubled to outraged. That being said, there should have been ample warning during DeBlasio’s campaign for election, and in his early days in office, that should have cued New Yorkers into the possibility they may have committed a grave error by supporting or electing him.

It reportedly began with him suspecting NYPD officers on his plainclothes security detail of somehow spying on his deliberations with his staff, and utterances he may have made during his campaign, and allegedly being suspected of reporting that information to his political opponents. Following his election, it only got worse – having no less a huckster than Al Sharpton dress down DeBlasio about alleged discriminatory actions by NYPD toward black citizens of New York City, with police commissioner Bratton seated directly across the table from Sharpton to boot. At this meeting Sharpton reportedly said, “If Dante (DeBlasio’s son) wasn’t your son, he’d be a candidate for a choke hold. And we got to deal with that reality.” One week ago, DeBlasio met privately with organizers of protests involving the resisting-arrest death of Mr. Garner, protesters who were already known to be harboring strong anti-police sentiments. Add to that his reported counsel to his son about behaving if stopped by the NYPD. He’s also defended City Hall staffer Rachel Noerdlinger, who also happens to be a long-time Sharpton aide. Noerdlinger’s son and the son’s boyfriend have been involved in various escapades involving the law, one of which involved an attempt to drive a police officer off the road in neighboring New Jersey. Loyalty down is a fine thing, but DeBlasio defended Noerdlinger well beyond the point where he should have quietly dismissed her as a liability.

I’m sure there are many, many more problems with DeBlasio’s stance toward law enforcement that your minions, or even some of your fellow residents at the castle, could recite.

My point is – with his behavior and statements during his mayoral campaign, and this track record once in office – why should citizens of New York City be surprised when NYPD officers report an increase in assaults against them, culminating in the brutal assassination of two officers? After all – those same denizens of the Big Apple voted DeBlasio into office. Somebody – a whole lot of somebodies – had to vote him into office despite some ominous rumblings. Morally, don’t they share some of this responsibility? I have yet to see or hear this spoken of.

ID