As we survey the world of infractions we find some are more annoying than others: traffic citations.
It's easy to find us in an Us vs Them mentality. if you are a cop, it's you versus is all the irresponsible drivers who put innocent people in danger and cause accidents...and then try to shoot you a you execute the law. If you are average Joe driver, it's you versus all the predatorial cops who dress their cars as innocent bushes, alleys and parking lots, using tax payer dollars to lazily sit and waif for someone to break a law in front of them, then treat that alleged criminal quite rudely. Both sides dehumanize the other: to the cop, Joe is automatically a punk kid who never got spanked, and to Joe, the cop is actually a robber coming to take time and $300 for trying to get to
work on time. There is no sympathy or understanding for Joe living in an imperfect world where his sick 3yr old daughter kept him up all night causing him to over sleep. There is no understanding for the officer knows every approach to a fellow citizen may be his last. The high school bully and geek will never graduate.
Unless....
What if we all use the powers given us by a somewhat free market in a somewhat free country? When a $100 radar detector or free phone app (Cobra iRadar) can save many $300 citations, why let law enforcement have the technological advantage? use the dollar and your thumb to detect and report speed traps along with real time cop locations. Make the revenue generation tactics fruitless, and maybe the tree will die and go away. If cameras and cops can't catch Joe committing a crime, then it stops being profitable to take up parking spaces at 7 Eleven, thus freeing up the cop to fight real crime instead of being the servant boy of fiscally irresponsible legislators.
Which brings me to my next point: what cop looks forward to day on a parked motorcycle at 7 Eleven? Why is he there on the first place? Officer, i address you along with all the a Joe's out there: dumb laws hurt everyone. Do you really need one more law to memorize and enforce? does the honor of your job go up or down when you become responsible for pulling over motorists for touching a cell phone? How about next year when you have to pull over folks for holding a hamburger while driving? While scribed in the name of safety, these laws reduce a cop's profession, steal our ability to make free choices, and widen the respect-rift between citizens and those who pledge to protect them. Roadways become sterile for a season, then the freedom fighters unite and stage demonstrations against the police state. The laws which steal rights of all to save a life today may cost more lives tomorrow as a suffocating public gasps for air to the point of rebellion. If we instead turn to a postmodern "conversation" and increase understanding between the opposing forces of cop and Joe, we may begin to see each other as human once again and even show some grace. Perhaps e can then allow courtesy to replace law in some areas.
Let us join, both cops and citizens to use our power of influence by urging our representative and senators to strike down the laws which cause excess penalty for victimless crimes. Let our tax payer dollars work for us by using the system put in place
by the fathers of this rather amazing country, warts and all. Let's reduce executive cost, improve respect between officers and citizens, and save the aggravation time and money of being pulled over when no one was even inconvenienced by your text message. Find your representative and respectfully share your thoughts today!
One could argue it's your civic duty to help your rep to know the voice of the people he's representing. One could also argue it's your civic duty restore the dignity and efficiency of law enforcement by reporting money generating practices to your fellow man, and thus use the free market to take away business from the government.
Please excuse the typos in this post. It's possible i write it on the Blogger app while driving. Would that be exercising my 1st Amendment right?
