What I Learned on NPR – May 2021

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I’m not a big fan of NPR. They seem to have a political slant and lobby ideas, all in the form of a non-profit organization.

They accept government funding and deductible donations in the same market and opposing views to their for-profit competitors. If their message is needed, they should be able to find sponsors to support their expenses.

With their revenue model, there are more NPR stations than needed in a geographic region. On my recent trip to New England, I was able to pick up three NPR stations near Lebanon, New Hampshire. Funding one should be enough.

Journalists and newscasters are less in recording and reporting news than commenting with their political leanings and spin. I would like to see a law requiring the labeling of all news personnel on any print, video, or audio media, displaying on the screen their names and a tag of either “leaning Republican” or “leaning Democrat.” Producers would include this information with debate moderators, sportscasters, and weather people.

BTW, my label is “leaning Republican,” even though I’m more of a libertarian. We have nutritional content labeled on the food we eat. What about our consumption of information, fact, or opinion?

After this long lead-in, I learned something on NPR while driving back from New England.

In the wake of police shootings and a move to defund the police, maybe the discussion needs to be framed outside the box with new ideas for first responders. Those in favor of defunding the police will still need help in certain situations. Those against defunding the police think people need police help in all cases.

Currently, when receiving a 911 call, the operator dispatches either police or fire and rescue. Police go into situations where someone may try to kill them. Fire and rescue personnel go into burning structures and save lives.

Maybe there needs to be a third type of first responder. This group would answer the calls where there is no possibility of injury to themselves. This third group would not need to be armed with deadly force and trained to resolve issues without using restraints.

The biggest issue would fall to the 911 operator handling the dispatching. They would need to analyze a phone call and then dispatch the correct group of first responders, a role I would not like to fill with potentially lives on the line with a mistake.

Presently, people in minority neighborhoods are afraid to call 911. They fear that the call may result in a worse disaster than they are already facing.

First responders are one area the government should be funding. We need to be confident that the government can protect and rescue our citizens in their time of need.