Crime does pay

I made the news recently after I defended my business and myself from a habitual criminal who has repeatedly stolen my property and assaulted me. The support that I have received has been overwhelming. However, I must correct a perception that the Waco police have done little to help me.

The perpetrator has now been arrested three times by the Waco Police Department for crimes at my business. Good cases have been prepared and submitted to the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Twice, the cases were dismissed by the DA without any consultation with the victim (me). I am anxious to see what the DA does with this new case.

The lack of prosecution in McLennan County is criminal itself. I am proud of the brave men and women of the Waco Police Department who put it all on the line every night. But to what end? The criminal is booked, bailed out and continues to disrupt and destroy the lives of honest citizens.

Crime does pay in Waco. When societies abandon the rule of law, society will cease to exist.

A cop reminded me last week that we elect our district attorney. Don’t forget to get out and vote.

Brett Boyd

Crawford

Forget the draft

Harley Johnson says he would like to see the draft reinstated [“I’m anti-war and pro-draft,” June 22]. Why? Because he contends “most young people grow up without experiencing military order and discipline.”

Mr. Johnson, face it: You really don’t know what most young people need in their lives. There are millions of young people whom you have neither met nor evaluated. Would not requiring young people to give up two years of their lives in service to the government be perceived as punitive rather than helpful?

Recall that the present-day all-volunteer military was the result of young people throughout this nation who refused to have their lives disrupted and face possible death because of conscription. Draftees have different points of view about their situation compared to the volunteer team-players. The draftees tend to be individualists, people whom institutions and organizations do not desire.

I wonder if Mr. Johnson has ever bserved military personnel when they’re free of their commands. Has he watched sailors going ashore in a foreign port after a month at sea? Has he been among Marines and soldiers who are on R&R after leaving a firebase? Has he observed fighter jocks partying in a Hong Kong hotel? Order and discipline? Hardly.

No possible good can come from forcing all young persons into involuntary servitude, with fines and prisons the response for someone saying, “Leave me alone.” Conscription or involuntary servitude amounts to slavery — nothing more, nothing less.

If a person does not own his or her own body, who does? If a person cannot say “no” without fear of penalty, that person is not free. And if a person is not free, is he not a slave?

Don Garretson

West

EDITOR’S NOTE: The United States ended the draft in 1973, though young men are still required to register in case a national emergency required sudden implementation of the draft.