Chapter 10
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2:22
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Bill and I returned to the station. In less than two hours our shifts would be over, I could return home to my girlfriend, Bill to his husband.
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Bill: I'm thinking about what Henry said.
Joe: Henry? The guy who sells religious materials?
Bill: Yeah, that movie he recommended, about a cop trying to discover who stole a book. It is a nice thought, that there would be so little crime we could spend a couple of days trying to learn this.
Joe: It is a nice thought. But two things occur to me. One is he was trying to sell us something. The second is that this film might be advocating methods that are, further towards the right than I'm comfortable with.
Bill: Both valid points, but a man can hope can't he?
Joe: Sure, I'm just not optimistic about living to see that day.
Bill: Forty years ago this country had a president who refused to accept an election and tried to overthrow it with a lynch mob. Do you think people back then could have imagined a day when there would only be twelve known terrorists in this country? Back then there was practically a mass shooting every week. Could people have imagined a major city like Los Angeles having toughly one murder a month? And president-elect Duric, fighting to give so many Maldivian refugees assylum. We've seen a couple of protesters, yes. But there have been no bombings, few acts of overt discrimination.
Joe: I know things have gotten better. Maybe by the time we retire, things will get even better. Why do you supposse it is that there is so little crime? At least little compared to how it was.
Bill: I think it has a lot to do with ending poverty. Time was racist demagouges sounded appealing when you were worried about some "foreigner" taking your job, your home. With so few people in need, they're more accepting of letting immigrants into their community.
Joe: That's true, to a certain degree. But, and maybe I'm biased because my girlfriend is a teacher, but I think it has a lot to do with people being taught good values, like the consistent life ethic.
Bill: That's true as well. Teachers like Michelle definitely played a part. Take abortion for example. People knew that was wrong for centuries, but many argued that if so many women and families were stuck in eternal poverty, outlawing abortion wouldn't do a damn bit of good. The 30th amendment wouldn't have worked if our society hadn't eradicated poverty, and we'd be arresting a lot more people.
Joe: I agree. Ending poverty, the consistent life ethic, the 30th amendment, all had to come together. President Burke claims that, largely because of her policies, America will be truly abortion free by the tri-centennial.
Bill: What do you think?
Joe: Well, we can hope can't we.
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3:33
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It was less than half an hour before our shifts were over, when I got a call. It was from my neighbor Nicole. She had gone into labor, and needed help. Captain Mackey gave me permission to leave early. It seemed that my day was about to get longer than expected.