My Take: TRY THAT IN A SMALL TOWN
/By: Joel E. Gordon
Baltimore City MD - Population (est.) 585,462 Crofton MD - Population (est.) 27,348 Kingwood WV - Population (est.) 3,116
Masontown WV - Population 535 Whether policing a small-town West Virginia county seat, a Washington, D.C. suburb or a police post in the city of Baltimore, and whether located in an affluent area or one on the other end of the socioeconomic scale, my primary area of responsibility or home base was always my own "small town." Why would that be? Because the relationships in a small-town atmosphere are conducive to public safety. Knowledge of an area facilitates a low-crime, respectful atmosphere reminiscent of days gone by. Think Mayberry.
Getting to know the people in your primary area of responsibility, be they residents, business owners, troublemakers (or all three – lol) allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of any area and provides investigative resources which otherwise might not be available. Earned trust and belonging is really what it’s all about.
When listening to the hit Jason Aldean song Try that in a small town, I fail to correlate the lyrics or music video images to a racial reference but rather why small-town mentality and atmosphere lends itself to a greater sense of peace, tranquility and overall safety.
Progressivism or other political ideologies become much less of a factor when we reduce our needs to be explained in the simple terms of the father of modern psychology, Abraham Maslow: >Affection: we care and are cared about. >Belonging: common goals such as peace and safety as a group endeavor. >Recognition: acknowledgment of our achievements along with any deficits needing improvement. We are all alike in our needs. It is a simple but effective way to understand the human equation.
Familiarity with others within the small-town atmosphere lends itself to greater accountability for one’s actions. As a Drug Abuse Resistance Education instructor, one of the lessons I taught was one of rights versus responsibility. For example, if you have the right to be heard (you do) then you have a responsibility to listen to others (you should). This was a simple lesson for my fifth- and sixth-grade students to grasp and understand so it should be easy for all to live by, but somehow seems diminished in the age of cancel culture. When dealing with others on a respectful basic humanistic level, priorities become more clearly aligned with universally desired results.
Merit, fairness, kindness, apathy and togetherness are among the many positive traits of small-town life. For me, life in my adopted home town of Masontown, West Virginia, provides the quality of life sought by myself and apparently many others looking for a better way of life for themselves and their families. Preston County (population 34,426) is home to Masontown, located in North Central West Virginia, which is listed among the fastest-growing counties in the state. I have resided in Preston County since 1992 and am glad that I had the foresight to do so.
Perhaps my perspective is a result from being born and raised in the City of Baltimore and then working and residing in a variety of atmospheres during my lifetime and career in law enforcement. But my belief that a small-town mindset is best for quality of life remains steadfast. As someone wishing to be heard, I am open to listening to the view of others, but to my way of thinking, Try that in a small town was written to heighten awareness of quality of life in any locale with small-town beliefs and respect for the rights of other law-abiding inhabitants.
Joel E. Gordon, Managing Editor of BLUE Magazine, 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
