Anarchy

I wrote quite a moving sermon on law and order after reading in the news about a group of people getting away with assaulting police recently.

I felt there should be an automatic penalty for anyone who assaults police when they are in uniform because the uniform marks them as someone who has been assigned authority by all the people of this country.

Any assault on that uniform is an assault on the people who have hired the wearer to protect them in my mind.  That means me.  I take an assault on the police very personally.

There should be an automatic respect for the authority symbolised by the uniform or so I thought.

Then I saw another news article.  This time it was about a group of primary school children aged around nine who assaulted an adult.

The leader went to battle on behalf of a female classmate and his schoolmates rallied around to help him out.

The adult in question had been trying to force the little girl to come with him.  She didn’t know him and was resisting his attempt to push her into his car when the lad noticed what was happening and charged to the rescue.  When other boys nearby saw what was going on they ran to help him and the adult was forced to flee without his intended victim.

It’s not the first time I have seen an article like that.  Kids these days have no respect for adult authority and there are a lot of down sides to that fact.

Seeing that item made me think again about my automatic response to the assault on police.

The uniform is a symbol of authority and it should be respected but there was a time when children were taught to respect adults too.

I was taught to respect adults and that landed me in the clutches of child molesters who used their status to make me accept behaviour my mother never intended me to accept.

I still don’t believe it’s OK to assault our police but, if they were to ever unjustifiably endanger my children, I doubt I would just stand by and permit it.

I have pretty clear cut lines.  If my children were breaking the law and putting their necks on the chopping block I would not interfere with them suffering the consequences of their actions but I can see how others might have lines that are much more blurred than mine.

My attitude towards the lack of respect for authority that is getting out of control these days has softened though.

If a certain degree of anarchy is the price we have to pay to see lads of eight and nine march in and chase a paedophile away from his intended victim then I have to say I’m willing to pay it!!!