Op-Ed: Is There Anyone Left to Trust?

There was a time when police, firefighters, mayors, pastors and others were seen as beacons of trust. Now they are becoming oppressors rather than rescuers, it seems. What now?

All the stereotypes are changing. Stereotypes are like myths in that they have some basis in truth, but unfortunately they then become applied to the entire group in question. There was a time when people could go to the police for safety. Now, the police are using tasers as freely as children use water pistols, except that the tasers are killing people. Forfeiture laws in some states have turned police into robbers. What was once cops and robbers is now cops as robbers. They’ve become known for being irrational, brutal, and devoid of conscience. Unfortunately, I have only had the pleasure of meeting a single “good cop” in my life. Every other one I’ve had any dealings with made me feel that if I made the slightest wrong move or said the wrong thing, I’d be beaten or maybe even killed. That’s not what police should be. Firefighters were seen as heroes especially after 9/11. Many are. Unfortunately, their ranks are not immune to corruption and some fire chiefs are taking part in helping the government train their firefighters to act as domestic spies, looking for anything “suspicious” and reporting it to the government, as Raw Story reported. How many might hesitate to call firefighters now, thinking that they might have a book that the government doesn’t like? How many unnecessary deaths will this mistrust engender? Clergy were seen as the pinnacle of goodness. They were God’s men, after all. However, stories of molestation and paedophilia have been flowing like water over the last couple of decades, and many of these perverts are being protected. Furthermore, they are also being trained by the government to help quell dissent should martial law take place, as reported on prisonplanet.com.. Do we really want people who are looking forward to some kind of Armageddon and Rapture to be in charge? Well, perhaps it’s already too late for that, looking at the current administration. Teachers are sleeping with students, even running off with them. Airport security likes to get extra “frisky”. FEMA is destroying rather than saving lives. Is there anyone left to trust? We could say “the people,” however, our citizenry has proved itself to be complacent, indifferent, selfish, and basically brain-dead. All we seem to have left is ourselves. So, where do we go from here? Maybe those people who stockpile food aren’t so crazy after all. Maybe those who leave the country for greener pastures are the ones who have their heads on straight. Strangely, all those conspiracy theories that people are often ridiculed for are coming true at a frightening pace. Those we used to call crazy are the ones that now seem the most informed. It’s overwhelming to think that there’s not anything we can really do about all this. The only thing that would really change things is some kind of mass wake-up call. Some “critical mass” as some books say. Yet, people are more concerned about celebrity gossip than their rights. It’s no wonder so many turn to drugs, entertainment and every other form of escape. Perhaps the only thing we can do is live by example. Do the right thing and hope that it becomes infectious. Help others, and don’t buy what we’re told. Maybe some of it will rub off on others enough to reach that critical mass.