The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Charles Mason November 8, 2021
Public service is an honor and a privilege. It is a privilege to serve our country in the military, federal, state and local governments. As public servants, we have not only observed but have also been a part of recent events. Americans have watched as citizens pushed for and against mask mandates and abortion. Which one is right, which one is wrong? Public servants have shut down houses of prayer, leaving church groups to have services in private homes, but have allowed bars, strip joints and abortion clinics to open. Which one should be open during a pandemic and which one should be closed? Some have tried to use The Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it enables religious exemptions to mask mandates. This so far has failed. Then there is the crisis at the border, where untold thousands flood across unguarded borders. Yet, citizens and guests who travel by legitimate means are forced to vaccinate. How comfortable is it to place the responsibility on others, on situations or on destiny?
Chicago Police Department
Many of the anti-vaxxers have been labeled the unwashed, uneducated and buffoons. However, there are growing anxieties over Chicago’s finest. The city faces a crime wave as murder rages throughout the city, and Chicago could hit as high as 800 murdered. There is a police force staffing struggle amid this crisis as a vaccine mandate confrontation between the mayor and 21 officers persists. Those not submitting to the mandate are now being put in an unpaid position. The mayor more than once has been caught breaking her own orders. It is said we are all equal, but some are more equal than others. One thing is for sure; crime will continue with or without those 21 officers holding the line.
Florida’s Anti-Riot Law
Florida’s lead public servant helped create new laws associated with riots and revised prevailing laws and sentences connected with rioting. Some said this law bans protests and inhibits protest efforts in Florida. Some view the law as an onslaught on their first amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The law has failed its first federal court appearance, as it was deemed ambiguous. Where laws fail, lawlessness prevails. Does a citizen have the right to block traffic, or is it more reasonable to keep off roads to lessen the potential death and injury? Does a protester have the right to engage or get into an altercation with counter-protestors? Or should protestors attempt to maintain order while protesting? Should a citizen retreat from circumstances when violent or threatened violence is imminent? However, while rioting, mask mandates are optional.
The Reign of Lawlessness
Denver and Capitol Hill stand out as an example of lawlessness. Nevertheless, one citizen’s lawlessness is another’s freedom march. Coloradans in 2020 endured peaceful political and civil protests, which many turned into violent riots and looting. Regrettably, the citizens who suffered the most were business owners. Lawlessness unabated tarnishes the spirit of the movement and the goals of those seeking more and not fewer freedoms.
Along with the trash-dotted tent cities of nomads living on the public property, broken windows of private and public buildings, statues that were damaged by rioters or removed by public officials, cities like Denver provide a clearer picture for other cities around the country on what they will face if they do nothing. Florida has taken a substantial step to protect its public and private property from criminals, revolutionaries and robbers. Was it the right measure or not? These riots can be demoralizing to law-abiding citizens. However, the ongoing destruction in D.C. and Denver can send a message to lawbreakers as well. Destructive and violent behavior is accepted; therefore, feel free to do it again. This failure to act, along with the surge in criminality and efforts to defund the police, will make citizens flee as they have done in California, Illinois and Colorado. States that are gaining citizens from this fleeing are Florida, Texas and Arizona.
Where do our rights come from?
A citizen standing up for their rights seems to be the American way. Americans have been known to go to great lengths to prove that they will not be pushed around. Americans are predisposed to this approach of demanding our rights. We are ready to respond when we feel victimized, either at houses of worship with mask mandates, at home or at work. Others feel victimized if you are not wearing your mask and have lashed out physically. Yet, who is right and who is wrong? Is it the 21 who stood up to the mayor of Chicago or the policymakers enforcing but not always abiding by the mandates? Even if you grant that they were right, could they both be just as wrong? America, we may leave a path of shattered and twisted communities. If we do not discover that, we can sometimes yield our rights to the gentle and gracious, not demanding public servants. If not, we will find ourselves facing down our neighbors behind the barrel of a gun.
Author: Charles Mason MPA, is a Doctoral Candidate at Walden University in Public Policy and Administration with a Specialization in Criminal Justice. He has over 30 plus years in local law enforcement, state corrections and military service. He is currently president of Mason Security.
When Everything is Your—Right!?!
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Charles Mason
November 8, 2021
Public service is an honor and a privilege. It is a privilege to serve our country in the military, federal, state and local governments. As public servants, we have not only observed but have also been a part of recent events. Americans have watched as citizens pushed for and against mask mandates and abortion. Which one is right, which one is wrong? Public servants have shut down houses of prayer, leaving church groups to have services in private homes, but have allowed bars, strip joints and abortion clinics to open. Which one should be open during a pandemic and which one should be closed? Some have tried to use The Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying it enables religious exemptions to mask mandates. This so far has failed. Then there is the crisis at the border, where untold thousands flood across unguarded borders. Yet, citizens and guests who travel by legitimate means are forced to vaccinate. How comfortable is it to place the responsibility on others, on situations or on destiny?
Chicago Police Department
Many of the anti-vaxxers have been labeled the unwashed, uneducated and buffoons. However, there are growing anxieties over Chicago’s finest. The city faces a crime wave as murder rages throughout the city, and Chicago could hit as high as 800 murdered. There is a police force staffing struggle amid this crisis as a vaccine mandate confrontation between the mayor and 21 officers persists. Those not submitting to the mandate are now being put in an unpaid position. The mayor more than once has been caught breaking her own orders. It is said we are all equal, but some are more equal than others. One thing is for sure; crime will continue with or without those 21 officers holding the line.
Florida’s Anti-Riot Law
Florida’s lead public servant helped create new laws associated with riots and revised prevailing laws and sentences connected with rioting. Some said this law bans protests and inhibits protest efforts in Florida. Some view the law as an onslaught on their first amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The law has failed its first federal court appearance, as it was deemed ambiguous. Where laws fail, lawlessness prevails. Does a citizen have the right to block traffic, or is it more reasonable to keep off roads to lessen the potential death and injury? Does a protester have the right to engage or get into an altercation with counter-protestors? Or should protestors attempt to maintain order while protesting? Should a citizen retreat from circumstances when violent or threatened violence is imminent? However, while rioting, mask mandates are optional.
The Reign of Lawlessness
Denver and Capitol Hill stand out as an example of lawlessness. Nevertheless, one citizen’s lawlessness is another’s freedom march. Coloradans in 2020 endured peaceful political and civil protests, which many turned into violent riots and looting. Regrettably, the citizens who suffered the most were business owners. Lawlessness unabated tarnishes the spirit of the movement and the goals of those seeking more and not fewer freedoms.
Along with the trash-dotted tent cities of nomads living on the public property, broken windows of private and public buildings, statues that were damaged by rioters or removed by public officials, cities like Denver provide a clearer picture for other cities around the country on what they will face if they do nothing. Florida has taken a substantial step to protect its public and private property from criminals, revolutionaries and robbers. Was it the right measure or not? These riots can be demoralizing to law-abiding citizens. However, the ongoing destruction in D.C. and Denver can send a message to lawbreakers as well. Destructive and violent behavior is accepted; therefore, feel free to do it again. This failure to act, along with the surge in criminality and efforts to defund the police, will make citizens flee as they have done in California, Illinois and Colorado. States that are gaining citizens from this fleeing are Florida, Texas and Arizona.
Where do our rights come from?
A citizen standing up for their rights seems to be the American way. Americans have been known to go to great lengths to prove that they will not be pushed around. Americans are predisposed to this approach of demanding our rights. We are ready to respond when we feel victimized, either at houses of worship with mask mandates, at home or at work. Others feel victimized if you are not wearing your mask and have lashed out physically. Yet, who is right and who is wrong? Is it the 21 who stood up to the mayor of Chicago or the policymakers enforcing but not always abiding by the mandates? Even if you grant that they were right, could they both be just as wrong? America, we may leave a path of shattered and twisted communities. If we do not discover that, we can sometimes yield our rights to the gentle and gracious, not demanding public servants. If not, we will find ourselves facing down our neighbors behind the barrel of a gun.
Author: Charles Mason MPA, is a Doctoral Candidate at Walden University in Public Policy and Administration with a Specialization in Criminal Justice. He has over 30 plus years in local law enforcement, state corrections and military service. He is currently president of Mason Security.
He can be reached at [email protected].
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DRCharlesMason
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