By
Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh
In the increased police state
around us and the amplified NSA surveillance everywhere, citizens are feeling
more and more like they are guilty until proven innocent. The police in Fairfax
County, Virginia, cannot stop many people for speeding since the interstates
and highways are constantly partially blocked by accidents, road repairs, and
rush hour - it is almost impossible to go fast – just a crawling speed bumper
to bumper at all hours of the day and night.
What is a cop to do to make his
quota of tickets? “Taxation through citation” for simple stuff, often made up
charges, harassing innocent citizens, while real crimes go unpunished. The area
is overrun with illegal aliens who drive unlawfully and badly because they cannot
read nor understand the road signs, yet ordinary Americans are stopped
constantly. Is the role of police to protect Americans who pay their salaries
or has it morphed into taxing citizens through endless minor but expensive
citations?
The tickets run from you did
not stop long enough at the stop sign, you ignored it, you stopped way before
the white line, you stopped past the white line, you changed lanes illegally,
you did not signal, etc. When roads are
treacherous or covered in black ice, it is hard to stop precisely on the white
line as policemen dictate.
Stop light cameras everywhere
catch even the most diligent drivers who are tired of waiting in endless
traffic lights that are not synchronized, and misjudge the timing of the camera
flash after the light changes from yellow to red. Nobody argues with cops, it’s
their words against the mighty police, unless they want to wind up in jail,
tazed, or cavity searched.
I am sure many policemen put
their lives on the line at times when they encounter bad guys. Must they hide
behind unmarked cars in order to catch speeders or other violators? If the
police’s role is to protect and serve the honest, law abiding taxpaying
citizens, if we are in real trouble and need to seek police help, how do we
know who to ask? How do we know they are the legitimate cops and not bad
elements prowling to kidnap or rape the innocents?
Do police need tanks and
armored vehicles like the ones used in battle in Iraq to protect its citizens
from drunks, bar brawls, home invasions, convenience store robberies, and
traffic violations? Yes, criminals have outgunned police at times, as was the
case years ago in California during a bank heist gone terribly perilous.
For every lazy and novice cop
who hides in quiet neighborhoods to catch residents going 2-3 miles over the
speed limit or not stopping long enough (What is long enough and who decides?)
at the stop signs, there are thousands of policemen who put their lives on the
line to really serve and protect innocent citizens from harm. And they do it
for modest remuneration.
As a law abiding citizen who
has nothing to fear, I find myself more and more afraid of the police. It’s a
feeling of dread I had growing up under communism. A person in police uniform
was someone to fear because they were not there to protect us, they were there
to harm and harass us – we were guilty until proven innocent. For three years
after I arrived in the U.S., my heart skipped a beat every time I saw a cop –
they were the enemy. I learned that policemen in the U.S. were there to help
and protect, and I relaxed.
I never see a policeman on the
road in Virginia helping a stranded motorist or changing a tire for a lady in
distress as was the case in other parts of the country where I lived.
I see blue lights as more
aggravation on the side of the roads with perennially slow moving traffic. Is
it necessary for cops to call in another cruiser as a backup when they are
ticketing someone for allegedly ignoring a stop sign?
Lately, I am anxious and
fearful again every time I see a policeman in uniform – my old feelings of
dread are resurfacing. As the police state tightens around us, heightened by
the NSA spying on all American citizens, the question to ponder is, how free
are we anymore?
