Can we get it back?

People giving good advice for dealing with an increase in local crime usually miss the real point of the discontent of those complaining about it.

They’ll advise, rightly, that we would all be better off if we’d stop pretending we still live in a place where all your possessions are safe from theft. Lock up your stuff, lock your car door and don’t leave your home unlocked. It’s common sense, they say. And it is, and has been, common sense for a long time — elsewhere.

People don’t want their possessions stolen, true enough. But those things we should now lock up are not the heart of what we’ve lost; they are superficial losses compared to the loss of innocence of community, if there is such a thing.

As our little world changed around us over the last year or two, those of us now shocked by the new wisdom simply didn’t notice that an ugly wound was festering on the skin of the community. As in many places all over the country, including most of rural America, extremely addictive drugs are taking their toll on a few, who may lose all desire for anything else, and their moral compass to a needle or spoon.

It’s actually been a long time coming, this infection, having been well rooted in many places. It seemed for a time we were immune, but that wore off and the infection must now be treated.

That treatment will likely be both costly and demanding of us, requiring discipline and consistency to regain our health, if we ever can completely.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher