Who May Be Questioned?

I honestly didn’t realize how pointed yesterday’s post had turned out until I saw one reader describe it as “spicy.” 

Although I don’t want change anything (in light of that assessment) I do want to reassure folks that I think it’s perfectly fine to feel frustration, to ask questions about things don’t make sense, and to vent or complain when you are simply on your last nerve. That’s completely normal. 

There are plenty of times that  I have questioned issues pertaining to the school system. Schools are not an unquestionable monolithic institution. But they are also not able to:

…be magically prepared at all times for challenges that haven’t ever happened before and for which no immediate solutions exist…(from yesterday’s post)

By all means question things which you believe ought to be within the school system’s ability to do. Or ask questions purely because you don’t understand. That’s not what set me off yesterday. My apologies if that was not clear.

Speaking of questions…

There seems to be a surge locally of the attitude that one must never question the police. 

In general, these folks are online daily questioning and criticizing just about everyone and everything: the school system, local businesses, mail delivery, libraries, new housing, people who ring their doorbells…

And, notably, they think nothing of questioning democratically-elected local officials.

But Heaven forbid anyone question The Police.

That makes no sense to me. Frankly I think it’s an extremely unhealthy attitude and it isn’t the way democracy is supposed to work. 

At the center of democracy is We, the People. We engage, we participate. We elect leaders whose job it is to serve for the common good. Can we question them? Absolutely. 

Police are charged with the realm of public safety. Like any employee in any job, they can be good at it or not so good, sometimes lamentably awful. Like any employee in any job they should be valued and supported for doing good work, provided with opportunities to improve if not so good, and relieved of duty for being lamentably awful.

Yes, they do challenging work. Part of that work is to earn and maintain the public trust. If they do not? Like any employee anywhere they are answerable to the laws of their jurisdiction.

Absolutely nowhere does it say that, in order for police to function, they must never be questioned. Some folks seem to think this is an unwritten requirement. I have news for them. What they are advocating for is not Democracy. It is a police state.

It is beyond my comprehension that the same folks who tell the most egregious lies about our local public servants can then turn around demand that there be no questioning of the police. 

We can be grateful and/or have respect for any number of local institutions without making any of them our own personal gods. We can be grateful for and/or have respect and still ask questions. 

Democracy is no democracy at all if we promote active engagement in every sphere but draw a big circle around one thing and say it must not be questioned. I honestly don’t know how people come to espouse this line of thinking but I do know that I find it very frightening. 

Village Green/Town² Comments