There were two stories out of the American heartland this week that mostly got lost in a frenetic autumn of political anxiety and baseball joy (or sorrow), but demand a few moments of our attention for what they say about what we value in this country — and what we should be ashamed about for not valuing more.
In Uvalde, Texas, where in May a teenage mass shooter murdered 19 students and two teachers, more police bodycam footage was released this week that confirmed what we’ve already come to learn about that tragedy over the last five months: Our nation’s police culture is broken.
Despite widespread belief to the contrary, police are often more concerned with self-preservation and social control than stopping crime. Nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to the scene in Uvalde, yet they took some 77 minutes to stop a lone active shooter.
