The following is an edited letter a friend received from a correspondent in New England:
"Just wanted to relate an cathartic experience that just happened to me this past weekend.
"I live in New England, and last weekend my town was at the epicenter of a winter storm that coated everything with an inch of ice. Tree limbs littered the street. Utility lines and poles were pulled to the ground. We had no power for twenty-four hours. Travel, even by foot, was all but impossible for most of Saturday
"Sunday, the ice quickly melted, and I discovered that one of my horses was AWOL. I called our local police to let them know whom to call when someone found a stray horse.
"There was no answer! No harried dispatcher asking if I could hold. No-call forwarding to the State Police. Not even an answering machine! The phone rang for ten minutes, with no answer. This is an upscale town of 15,000, with a full-time chief of police and ten, full-time officers, several non-sworn employees, and a brand-new, magnificent police station! I tried again an hour later. Same result!
"My horse returned later that day (when she got hungry,) so all is well. But, for the first time since we've lived here, I started to think about what would have happened if a violent criminal were breaking down my door. What if someone were really trying to harm me?
"I've always heard from the liberal media that I didn't need to own guns, nor give even the slightest thought to my own safety, as the police are there to protect me. Well, they weren't there last weekend!
"The event shook me up!
"This storm was localized and short-lived. What is going to happen when a disaster, or international event, affects the entire State, or all of New England for that mater, maybe for weeks? Who will protect me from violent criminals then?
"The lesson really hit home for me when I needed help, and found only an unanswered phone."
My friend, who is a veteran combat officer, a senior and highly competent law enforcement officer as well as a firearms and personal safety and security consultant and instructor commented as follows:
"I don't know how many times things like this have to happen before Americans finally, honestly confront the woeful limitations of government!
"Here, we see a small police department altogether overwhelmed by a short-lived, localized weather event. I'm sure they did the best they could, but they were instantly in over their heads, and public expectations suffered, as we see.
"Those 'expectations' are probably unrealistic anyway! They're based on perfect weather, perfect conditions, and no surprises. They represent little more than wishful thinking!
"We need to ask liberal politicians, who are tirelessly working to incrementally legislate all the uncertainties out of life, if they plan on legislating the weather too! If not, the rest is an exercise in futility. All they really accomplish is the suffocation of our individual freedom.
"If I were cynical, I might even suspect that was their real purpose from the beginning!"
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