“Law and Order”! That is one of the most over used phrases in the English language. Another very over used phrase is “no one is above the law”. This election year we are hearing those phrases almost every day. I agree with both phrases yet some of the people who are using them are using them for votes and not because they believe in them.

Donald Trump attended the wake of a New York Police officer gunned down in the line of duty and called for “law and order” trying to make a statement that he would be tougher on crime than President Biden. He stated “We have to get back to law and order. We have to do things differently. This is not working. This has happening too often. We have got to toughen up”.  Jonathan Diller was fatally shot during a traffic stop while approaching an illegally parked car in Queens. Crimes like these are usually not the fault of any Executive Administration either Republican or Democrat. No President has the jurisdiction over the local law enforcement.

I hate to say this but the same things happened when Trump was in office. I looked at law enforcement deaths and they looked like they have risen for the last 15 years or so until this last two years where it  seems to be on a decline. Does that mean that Biden is doing a better job than Trump?  I don’t know.  I do know he has been trying to limit access to guns from felons and people who have a mental health concern. But, any restrictions on guns are met with a whole lot of pushback from the Republican Party. Can we be tough on violent crime without addressing guns? I don’t think so. I feel as long as America has its love affair with guns we will always have violent crime.

Trump stated “We have to get back to law and order. We have to do things differently. This is not working. This has happening too often. We have got to toughen up”. He talks tough but I have not heard a thing that he is going to do differently. I have not heard a plan. “We have got to toughen up” what does that means? Really, what does that mean? Those words mean absolutely nothing. Is he going to allocate more financial resources to communities so they don’t have to cut their police department budgets? By tougher does he mean “goon squads” like the Nazi goon squads? Are we talking concentration camps and death camps like Hitler had? We already incarcerate a much higher percent of our population than much of the free world.  Trump’s right about one thing, what we are doing isn’t working and we have to do things differently. Maybe we have to start looking at “free countries” that have a much better record than we have. Trump likes to buddy up to dictators who have much greater power than what our President has. I like the fact our President is not a dictator. Our Constitution is written so our President is not a dictator so we have to look at the solutions other countries in the free world are using.

As I look at the list of the safest countries in the world it reminds me of the freest countries in the world. Not necessarily in the same order but pretty much the same countries. Of the 25 safest counties in the world not surprising the most are in Europe. The Scandinavia Countries are right up there that are also some of the freest countries in the world but are also some of the safest. Most are Democratic Socialist countries that protect the welfare and the right of all of its citizens. To put it another way, a country that takes care of its citizens are safer than a country that doesn’t. You can talk about a tougher police presence and tougher laws or even talk about locking more people up and I don’t think you will see a drop in crime. Sometimes it is just simple physics. Force will be met with force. I look at Demark and I see the fourth safest country in the world. It is one of the safest and happiest countries in the world according to the World Population Review. It states that Demark has a high level of equality and a strong sense of common responsibility and social welfare. Corruption in Danish business and politics is rare as honesty and truth are top priorities. On the same list the United States ranks 129. We have fallen every year since 2016. They attribute the drop to a decrease in life satisfaction, rising political division and an increasing wealth gap.

As a country we are going downhill especially when it comes to law and order. When you see a policeman you should feel safe but too many don’t because of profiling. Racism and bigotry is real in this country and our police are not different. Some fear that a bigger police presence will just mean more police suppression. No one should be above the law especially the police. Guns don’t make anyone feel safer. The more guns will only equal more shootings. As the wage gap grows so will crime. It really shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. The less people have and the more that they see that others have will only equal more crime.

What we really lack is equality under the law. If I would threaten a political figure I would be probably be put in jail. Trump has posted on Truth Social a video of a truck with a picture of a bound, gagged and kidnapped President Biden. If that was me for sure someone would be knocking on my door. From Trump it is free speech but for others it may constitute an arrest. That is not equal justice. If I would be threatening my Judge or his family I would probably have my bond revoked but for Trump it is free speech. Trump now says that he will pardon all of the 1/6 insurrectionists while other people that committed lesser crimes sit in jail. Equality is important for people to feel safe and we don’t have it here. Our Declaration of Independence may state that but it wasn’t true back then and it isn’t true now but it is a goal that we should be striving for. I wonder what would happen to a son of mine if he had gotten his 15 year old girlfriend pregnant. The age of consent in Colorado is 17. Boebert may be celebrating but we have an age of consent so babies are not having babies. This same son was arrested for breaking into cars and stealing things like credit cards. He also made a sex tape with one of his accomplices. This is a kid from a family that has no respect for the law and is out of control. The people do not have faith that he will be held accountable like many others would be. Equal treatment under the law is important for all citizens.

One other thing that makes the United States rank so low is honesty from its businesses and its government. The American people are so used to being lied to we think every Politician lies and brushes it off as the norm. We are also so used to our businesses lying to us that we feel that is the norm too. For years we were told that smoking didn’t cause cancer. They hid from us just how bad pollution was to our air and our water. Now they lie about global warming.  Our Government lied about Viet Nam. Our Government lied about Watergate. Our government lied about the Iran Contras. Our Government lied about Iraq. Our Government lied about Covid. Then they lied about the election being stolen so they could try and put an Un-elected man in the White House. Maybe we should be rated lower than 129.