Most American conservatives are strong supporters of law and order, and as such, big backers of the men and women in blue. But times have changed dramatically from the days of the neighborhood peace officer, and the US is increasingly moving away from the Andy Griffith Show and hurtling more towards George Orwell’s 1984. Here are some reasons why American conservatives ought to resist this.
1. The Colonial Experience
Colonial Americans grew to chafe under the excesses and abuses of the British forces that were deployed in the colonies ostensibly to maintain law and order. Did this nation’s forefathers fight to free themselves from the yoke of British tyranny and oppression only for their modern descendants to recreate a homegrown version?
2. The Fear of the Founding Fathers
Law enforcement has become the standing army some of the Founders feared and warned against. Many local police departments now have surplus military gear and routinely deploy it. And there are now tens of thousands of SWAT teams deployed every year, often merely to serve warrants. Civil asset forfeiture is another abuse.
3. The Second Amendment
Imagine the local Sheriff’s Office sending someone over who knocks on your door and says, “Hello, law-abiding conservative. I’m here to legally confiscate your guns.” If you support your right to own and carry a firearm, and you despise gun control, stop to consider who exactly would impose it upon you.
4. The Addiction of Leviathan
Expanding government surveillance. Increasingly invasive pat-downs at the airport. Metal detectors in schools. Police issuing citations to children running a lemonade stand. Cops strangling someone for selling cigarettes without a license. Police hassling citizens trying to help out their neighbors after a hurricane. Those charged with maintaining law and order increasingly oppress, tyrannize and exploit us at nearly every turn. Too much is too much already.