Two Years to Get it Done; What Laws Can't Fix; True Heroes

And a New York state bill that protects animals and due process

It’s a pivotal time in our nation’s history, and I for one, am feeling energized. Moving into 2025, we have the momentum and public sentiment on our side, plus an incoming legislative body that has vowed to improve public safety. We’re most certainly better positioned than we have been for several years.

Here’s something I’d like for you to keep in in mind, though: We’re in a race against time.

We have a mere two years to get meaningful pro-law enforcement and -public safety bills enacted in the 119^th Congress. This means we need to work quickly and efficiently.

Why two years? Because there’s no guarantee we’ll have a Republican trifecta at the federal level after the mid-terms. Or several current pro-law and order Democrats who are up for re-election.

We’re also dealing with a fickle public, where public sentiment is subject to change, and rather quickly at that. Though public safety is one of the electorate’s current top concerns, priorities and moods change.

This is why it’s so essential to solidify pro-police and -public safety laws now, when we have the opportunity. That way, we’ll have a foundation in place to better protect officers and civilians regardless of societal circumstances.

All the meaningful partnerships I’ve been working to cultivate, along with the research, the data, the resources, and the legwork were meant for this very moment in time. These factors will all be extremely useful for a big positive project in the works. Stay tuned. : )

You can’t legislate morality

While I’m excited about our prospects for 2025, I also know that a lot of damage has been done to policing and that it will take time and a united effort to solve it.

Not to mention the fact that our nation has deep-rooted problems that no law can directly fix.

I think a lot of us are questioning why a growing number of our nation’s young people have seeming becoming radicalized. How, for example, can someone so easily take a life for some perceived slight. Or celebrate the death of an innocent person and declare the alleged killer a hero. Or harbor deep anti-American sentiments and destroy property, all in the name of some misguided sense of seeking justice.

Sure, deviant behavior is as old as the planet. It’s just not something that’s been as prominent as it is now, at least not in my lifetime.

As was recently pointed out in a Wall Street Journal editorial regarding the Mangione case,

“It’s a dreadful sign of the times that Mr. Mangione is being celebrated in too many places as a worthy avenger instead of an (allegedly) deranged killer. But that is how our culture has degraded—egged on for political purposes or audience ratings by many who know better.”

We don't have enough information at this point to determine if this person has a mental illness, or if other factors motivated him to commit this heinous act. We also don’t know the backgrounds of other young people who feel justified in committing, or celebrating crimes.

It’s not a stretch, however, to acknowledge that there may be a link between these troubling behaviors and trends like the obsolescence of faith, a mental illness epidemic, loneliness and isolation, distant parenting, illicit drug usage, over-reliance on technology, and so forth.

It’s also hard to ignore how ideology that’s arguably warped - some of which is being taught at several of our nation’s universities- is hijacking impressionable minds.

An author via the Washington Examiner expressed it well:

“It should not be lost on us that there is a clear ideological continuum between people who rationalize the shooting of a CEO and those who rationalize the murder and rape of Jews by Palestinian terrorists and those who rationalize the burning down of cities for social justice.

“If you’re convinced your opponents are abetting some (imaginary) “genocide,” you have a moral duty to stop them . . .”

The Nazis also thought they were justified in committing their barbaric acts, as have other tyrants throughout history. As a free nation, we can never accept any of this as normal.

Changing laws may be tedious, but it’s nothing compared to what it’ll take to fix broken souls and a broken culture. Yet I remain confident that we can overcome this.

Legislative Update

Peanut’s Law: Humane Animal Protection Act

As a dedicated animal lover and someone who strongly believes in due process of law, I cheered when I saw that Peanut’s Law was recently introduced in the New York state legislature.

This necessary bill was authored by Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (15), whose staff has been nothing but gracious and helpful in answering my many questions.

It was written in response to the reckless way in which New York authorities seized, then euthanized, two animals under the care of one of the state’s sanctuaries.

A key element of the bill is that state authorities would be required to wait 72 hours before taking action. A review board comprised of a licensed veterinarian, sanctuary representative, and public health official would need to evaluate any appeals within 48 hours.

We live in the United States of America, where government overreach and tyranny have no place. This bill needs to pass.

Parting Thoughts

It goes without saying that police officers are modern-day heroes. It takes special people to willingly place themselves in harm’s way for complete strangers.

Other exceptional human beings inhabit this planet, some of whom have since passed. One of these is Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Catholic priest who was imprisoned in Auschwitz, one of the concentration camps in German-occupied Poland. My dad told me about his story when I was younger, and it’s been impressed in my psyche ever since.

Father Kolbe, who was later canonized into sainthood, asked the SS guards if he could trade places with another prisoner (married with children) who was marked for death. He willingly gave his life so another could live.

Though he was a true hero and martyr, his story has largely been forgotten. It’s why I was grateful to see that Martin Scorsese (director of Goodfellas and other notable films) has a new series on Fox Nation called The Saints. It includes a segment on Father Kolbe.

In a world where narcissism and self-service has become normalized and people who commit violent acts are glorified, we need to be reminded of the difference between right and wrong.

I hope you have a magnificent weekend, and encourage you to do something good for yourself. : )

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For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.