He called the sheriff's department the next day and was told they sometimes only have 2 or 3 deputies on patrol in my county, which is more than 4,700 square miles. The county just released almost 100 people from jail, including some violent criminals. All due to a serious county budget crisis. It's been in the news quite a bit the last year or so, the sheriff publicly threatening to cut deputy patrols even further if something isn't done. One recent news story says "There are now 6-8 hours every day when citizens may call for help from a deputy, but there won’t be anyone on duty to respond."
This is not the first time my friend has seen inaction by the sheriff's department about the meth house next door. He called 911 when he overheard a loud argument and threats of breaking out a gun; nobody came then, either. He was told then that the only thing he could do was vote for a tax increase to fund the department, which he said he'd gladly do. Pretty sure it's not on the fall ballot, though.
After all of this he decided to buy his first gun a couple days ago, a .40 cal Glock (fine choice). I showed him how to safely handle, shoot, and field strip it. He has no interest in guns, didn't really want to buy it but felt he had to. He has a wife and toddler and doesn't trust the sheriff's department to protect his family or his property; even his liberal wife suggested that it might be time to get a gun. He came to me because he knew I was a gun nut
This is just one example in a rather marginal county in a rather marginal state. But the rot seems to be coming from the top as well. I just finished Kunstler's “Too Much Magic” (an excellent read). His description of the financial meltdown in 2008 as a fundamental breakdown in the rule of law stuck in my mind:
.The 2008 crisis emanated from the biggest systematic control fraud in world history. Networks of people in privileged positions violated the trust vested in their authority and subverted legitimate enterprise, clouding the boundary between business and crime, right and wrong. They have been covering it up in plain sight since, both in banking and in government....The extended crisis has shredded confidence in authority in general and faith that we are capable of governing the most critical of our collective responsibilities: running complex systems that actually work.” (p.145)
Am I imagining things or is the United States in the process of turning into a Third World country?