One of the fundamental principles behind A Simple Plan is not 'merit-based' reward but the competency-based reward system.
It is true that most 'meritocracies' use nebulous measures of 'worthiness' [many hereditary] that take no account of competency but if you have to explain/defend the tiniest detail of every proposal it becomes very frustrating/tedious indeed.
It is NOT possible to level the playing field by eliminating accountability or by ignoring outcomes yet the people responsible for the abject failure of the current system remain in control by doing both.
It is not a meaningless question to ask what percentage of the gun violence statistics are police related.
It is not possible to hand an individual a gun and a badge and instruct them to look out for trouble and for that individual not to be the one that causes the trouble they were sent to seek.
We often think we understand one another but that is an illusion. Communications have always been a major social stumbling block for humans because we are incapable of reading minds, much less seeing things from someone else's perspective.
With that as a given, the job of law enforcement is foolhardy at best and disastrous most of the time.
The law belongs to the people who agree to abide by it. TECHNICALLY there is NO LAW. Society has CHOSEN to prohibit RANDOM VIOLENCE because of the endless nature of REVENGE, Killing one leads to the quest to bring the killer to justice with every individual killed screaming for the killer blood.
Your killing one of theirs because they killed one of yours does not lead to justice. It leads to dead bodies as far as the eye can see. The only way to stop a blood feud is to never start one.
I must be mindful of the feeble who easily lose the thread of a discussion. What does murder have to do with law enforcement and meritocracy?
The idiots running things defend their gross incompetence because they are 'uniquely qualified' to lead for a thousand reasons [sadly none of them rational.]
This is why MOST law enforcement gets on the force via nepotism while others literally brawl their way onto the force. [Fighting is the only thing they are good at and this is in direct conflict with the primary objective of a job that focuses on conflict resolution.]
So these incompetents who are instructed to keep an eye out for 'trouble', end up causing it instead.
[STOP]
When everybody is incompetent, nobody is 'right'. How's that for 'insoluble'? I once again point out that I don't pen these missives for dummies. The cognizant recognize that the problem is the endless shifting of the goalposts.
Anything goes is ever and always fatal.
A rudderless ship can't be steered [and will inevitably wreck.]
The befuddled are baffled but the competent know what needs to be done. The harrowing part of what lies ahead is that bravado can masquerade as loyalty and not show itself for what it is until it is too late.
The competent take notice. Education is key!
We can not permit the self-serving to continue to dictate what our children are taught because what you understand becomes what you believe!
If we are to rid ourselves of incompetent leadership we must demonstrate what competence can accomplish by sweeping aside the opposition and restoring justice.
Remember, without EQUALITY there can be no JUSTICE and without Justice there can be no PEACE!
Thanks once again for letting me inside your head and letting me get this off my chest!
Gegner
