I just didn’t know where to start. Three topics that pushed my buttons over the past week or so.
Let’s start with the tragedy at Fort Hood. At an American military base, supposedly a secure installation, stricken with the tragic deaths of over a dozen people. The Army wants to be careful in calling it an act of terrorism, saying that there are many Muslim members in the ranks who would be offended. I contend that we’ve gotten way to “PC” for our own good. Call a spade a spade – this was an act of terrorism, plain and simple. Like it or not, the US is in the midst of a war. Not a war like generations before us fought, where the enemy was easy to identify. The war we are fighting now has lines that are blurry and enemies that are hard to spot. So it was amazing to me that the General of the base said that firearms are not issued to the troops unless there is a drill or other specific activity that requires them.
Really? If we refuse to acknowledge that we are fighting a war, then we are allowing ourselves to be pushed around. The Major that perpetrated this act of terrorism had to know that he would face little or no opposition simply because nobody else would be armed and able to counter his attack! How many more acts like this will need to take place before we wake up and realize that the only way to prevent criminals – and terrorists – from plying their trade is to make them believe that they will not be able to accomplish their task. Meeting force with force. My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives at Ft. Hood, but this tragedy did not have to happen. Allowing members of the military to be properly able to defend themselves would have caused Major Hasan to reconsider his plans. At the very least, fewer lives would have been lost.
Criminals do not obey laws. That is the very essence of what makes them criminals. To operate a military installation in the midst of a war on terrorism and not allow our soldiers the ability to defend themselves is just crazy.
Moving on to Philadelphia, the citizens there are in the midst of a strike by transit workers. It’s not uncommon to see workers go on strike in order to get better working conditions. As reported in USA Today:
“Union workers, who earn an average of $52,000 a year, are seeking an annual 4% wage hike and want to keep the current 1% contribution they make toward the cost of health care coverage. Their contract expired in March.
“SEPTA was offering an 11.5% wage increase over five years, with a $1,250 signing bonus in the first year, and increases in workers’ pensions, Maloney said.”
Are you kidding me? We are in the midst of a recession. There are unemployed workers lined up looking for jobs. SEPTA offers a guaranteed wage increase and an increase in pensions. Yet the union decided that wasn’t good enough, so they decided to walk off the job, causing a major disruption to traffic and routines in Philadelphia. Not the best timing here, folks. It would be fairly easy to fill the positions left vacant by the striking workers with others who are desperate for a job. Maybe if the economy was stronger there would be more sympathy for the transit workers. I am not traditionally in favor of unions, and it is actions like this that give unions a bad image with the general public.
Finally, the insanity of “zero tolerance” in our public schools was displayed over the past week or so. Right here in Des Moines, a student is suspended for bringing an empty shotgun shell to her science class for show and tell. In Newark, Delaware, a student is suspended for bringing a Cub Scout camping tool to school that contained a blade.
In each case – and others like them – a sensible person would have to consider the intent of bringing the items into the school. I am perfectly OK with throwing the book at those who bring dangerous items into schools with the intent to do harm or create panic. This was not the case in the two incidents I highlighted. In fact, an empty shotgun shell simply cannot cause harm to anyone, unless someone tries to swallow it. Zero tolerance policies will not keep criminals from bringing dangerous items into our schools. The two students I highlighted had no ill intentions, yet their records are now tainted with their respective suspensions. We should be teaching our students about trust and responsibility. Zero tolerance policies teach our children about neither.