SOS: It's an EMERGENCY

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results” – Milton Friedman 

Have “progressives” completely lost the concept of emergency response and action to any immediate crisis?

A wise police instructor once taught the difference between the public and private sectors. Government prioritizes perceived equity over results, while private business people value results and productivity (i.e. profit or value). Today, while still true, our culture seems to be heading further into the abyss with lack of understanding of priority needs.

 A traditional Texas putdown, “all hat, no cattle” (or, alternately, “big hat, no cattle”) which refers to someone who is all talk with no action, power, or substance behind his/her words seems to perfectly describe how many in authority now view crisis intervention.

Vice President Border Czar Kamala Harris’ handling of the border crisis (or her lack thereof) is a perfect example with skyrocketing migration numbers, human and drug trafficking flooding into the United States by her prioritizing “root-causes” versus taking necessary emergency actions to mitigate the immediate crisis.

Failure to deal with exigent circumstances and any crisis at-hand by always deferring to investigation of "root-causes" exacerbates the chaos and is always seen as weakness and deservedly so.

 This is an ongoing problem with the progressive left. Failing to understand how to deal with emergency crisis situations, whether it is border insecurity and control, or emergent circumstances requiring use of force by law enforcement in an effort to save lives and livelihoods is now becoming the norm.

It takes a special individual to sign up to become a peacekeeper. Whether referred to as a guardian, protector or warrior, not many are suited to the bravery it takes to run into potentially deadly circumstances. Yet the fight or flight response occurs in all of the animal kingdom and once an emergent deadly encounter is imminent, a natural survival instinct is triggered as a normal response. When it's kill or be killed, it becomes survival of the fittest in all of nature as a part of our God-given eco-system. No man or law will change that in spite of a cowardly desire by self-identified “progressives” to routinely ignore necessary response to emergencies by looking for ‘root-causes” inappropriately at moments of active deadly threat.

 Sen. John Kennedy (R) Louisiana expressed failed response to crisis by saying that the timing was bad in addressing “root-causes” as the house is on fire and we find ourselves discussing new tires for the fire truck in lieu of putting out the fire as the priority.

Baltimore’s Kimberly Klacik wisely and accurately responded to Vice President Harris by comparing Guatemala to West Baltimore. When Kamala Harris spoke of “root-causes” for migration out of impoverished Guatemala she noted crime, violence, poor education, food deserts and lack of jobs as contributing “root-cause” factors. All of which perfectly describe the plight of the residents of West Baltimore except that West Baltimore exceeds Guatemala in crime and violence! In fact, mass shootings have occurred on a near monthly basis during the first half of 2021 in Baltimore city, with residents asking, “Where’s the plan?” to combat the city violence. The Biden administration has committed to investment in agribusiness, affordable housing, and entrepreneur creation for Guatemala (while citing global warming as another source of angst for Guatemalans’). What about something along these lines now or in the foreseeable future to come to the aid of the residents of West Baltimore? Crickets … So much for charity begins at home.

The president of Guatemala had it right when he said if the laws and policies on the books this administration inherited were simply enforced, the border problem would not be where it is today. Even Vladimir Putin made clear that he would not tolerate the civil unrest seen on America's streets in compromise of safety in his own country.

While somehow our current federal administration seems bewildered by crisis intervention, the solutions are clear in enforcement of existing laws. Yet somehow our current administration remains blind to recognition of the necessity of taking decisive emergency actions at times of crisis. It’s past time to value positive results both now and looking forward by being “woke” to reality through prioritization of immediate action over long term solutions which MUST be secondary to response to any immediate threat and crisis.

Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a multi-jurisdictional regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com