From The Storyteller
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July 23, 2018, 440
24/7/365 cable news networks are at work obtaining higher ratings. Since disaster, death and destruction really do get people’s attention, the bulk of the daily news feed is about crime, murder, crooked politicians, and lives utterly destroyed by volcanoes, wildfires, and terrifying storms. 24/7/365 we hear our world is a dark dangerous place – and I am NOT buying it. I have lived for seven + decades. With all the visits to the grocery store, movies, restaurants, schools, churches, little league coaching, scouting, etc. my encounters with police has been limited to few fender benders, a pre-school smoke detector malfunctions, and a 62 in a 55. Seven decades and that is it. I grew up on the south side of Chicago, lived in small rural towns, central Dallas and 10 minutes from our border with Mexico. Our travels have taken us to every state but Alaska (soon). My personal experience, folks may have their differences but generally they get along pretty well. Example. The City of Lubbock and its surrounding area has roughly 275,000 people living, working and going to school, yet the entire Lubbock police department numbers only 440 individuals. That’s it. 440 individuals serving over a quarter of a million people, 24/7/365. That is not a whole lot of folks chasing down bad folks, doing house fire security, traffic accident investigations, quieting family disputes, assisting medical emergencies and doing the mountains of paper work that goes with each event. Why such a small number for so many people? Basically the vast majority of people live in harmony with each other. Don’t live in Lubbock and still wondering, check the numbers in your community yourself. Fact – we live in a country where people work and play well with others. Moral – Living with the reality of everyday makes it easier to sleep at night. |