Good Government
Free Market Friday: Timely leadership
July 22, 2016
Jonathan Small
The tragic deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, and then the horrific ambush murders of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, drew the usual statements from President Barack Obama.
Yes, it was awful, he allowed, but then he engaged in divisive rhetoric about gun control and race.
By contrast, America heard reasonable, restrained, and brave words from David Brown, chief of police in Dallas. Brown didn’t beat the obligatory gun-control drum. Instead he offered common-sense observations in a time of tragedy.
Brown challenged the protesters from groups like Black Lives Matter to make them really matter by joining the police department. Be part of the solution, Brown said.
He called attention to a growing problem for law enforcement nationwide: We are asking too much of our police officers.