In the ongoing melodrama that is politics today, there seems to be an unending passionate plea from certain quarters to paint a nightmarish picture of law enforcement agencies. These politicians, mostly waving the Democratic banner, appear determined to alarm everyone about the supposed danger posed by military forces on American soil. It’s hardly surprising, given their tendency to heighten ruckus over almost anything involving strength and order. What they fail to mention, of course, are the concrete benefits these forces bring.
When the National Guard was dispatched to cities like Chicago and Washington D.C., critics foresaw chaos. It’s a bit like predicting a hurricane every time the wind picks up. They imagined a landscape where military personnel, in their estimation, would turn these American cities into dystopian nightmares of intimidation and fear. Yet, what these fervent critics overlook is the very real and present threat posed by actual chaos on the streets. Instead of acknowledging the terror experienced by residents at the hands of increasing crime, they chose to focus on the hypothetical terror supposedly generated by a disciplined force designed to quell it.
Statistics, which are as unyielding as ever, tell a different story from the one pessimistic politicians prefer. In Washington D.C., since the deployment of the National Guard, crime rates remarkably dropped by 30% compared to the same period the previous year. These service members are not mindless automatons terrorizing neighborhoods. They are well-trained personnel whose every action is measured against rigorous standards precisely to maintain peace. If saving lives and reducing crime is their definition of tyranny, then perhaps it’s time they dusted off a dictionary.
This decline in crime should be cause for celebration and relief, signaling that effective measures are being taken to restore safety and order. However, for some, admitting this would mean straying from their narrative. The idea of an arming presence so terrifyingly negative to some politicians doesn’t line up with the reality of safer and more secure communities. No doubt, they would rather conjure the image of an unchecked military patrolling streets than address the pressing needs of their constituents to not live in fear of rampant crime.
In the end, perhaps it’s easier for these critics to rage against the disciplined arm of the law than to face the uncomfortable truth that sometimes, tough measures are necessary. While they debate endlessly about what is “the American way,” the National Guard quietly goes about achieving what they were tasked to do—protecting them and their constituents all the same. Maybe it’s time we focused less on political theater and more on the very real benefits clear-eyed action brings to American cities.
