About Rod D. Martin
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Politics & Economics
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Faith & Cultureby Rod D. Martin
July 22, 2013
The Posse Comitatus Act prevents the use of the military for policing on American soil. But you’d hardly know it existed based on the increasing militarization of police forces, not just in major urban areas like Los Angeles but in communities as small as 20,000 people or less.
Today’s Wall Street Journal asks the question in my title, in an article called “Rise of the Warrior Cop“. It deserves a look.
Some will rightly respond that we live in a time in which terrorists are a constant threat and potentially able to wield weapons of mass destruction. But this is no longer a conservative position at the point at which we begin to compromise fundamental freedom. Benjamin Franklin said “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Franklin was no pacifist: he put his life on the line for the idea of America, against the greatest power on Earth, a power that didn’t mind using its military on American soil one little bit.
Conservatives are used to fighting a Democratic Party that seems with the French always to want surrender. This has been so for at least forty years, with liberals seeking to tear down the FBI, gut the CIA, cancel weapons programs absolutely essential to deter or, worst case, defeat the USSR, and more recently, treat Islamofascism as the appropriate province of Barney Fife. Conservatives have been right to call for strength, because as George Washington has taught us, “the most effectual way to preserve the peace is to prepare for war.” Especially when you’re in one.
But conservatives should avoid knee-jerk reactions every bit as much as liberals. We live in a different time now, when technology (combined with Obamacare, the Patriot Act, and a host of overreaching actions by the folks in power) renders our every movement public, our every secret the province of some government surveillance program, and all of this easier by the day. Be honest: doesn’t the prospect of mosquito sized spy drones creep you out? It should, because any day now, it will.
Add to this an increasing tendency by government to resort to compulsion — something already inevitable simply because of its runaway size — and the increased militarization of federal and local police and, well, this just isn’t the time for knee-jerk anything.
Bottom line: of course it’s time to reconsider the militarization of American policing. It’s also time to reconsider privacy, and the increasingly unhelpful legal standard of “reasonable expectation of privacy” (which today means you may never really expect any). Technology is a liberator if it’s our servant; police are our friends if they are bound by reasonable laws and inalienable rights. But remove either of those premises and in short order you’ll have a police state. And in that day, Constitutions will be nothing but scraps of paper.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.