The Police State

The link below is from November of 2012. A homeowner was trying to protect his home from igniting due to a fire at his neighbor's house. The police were on the scene, but no firefighters had yet arrived. The police told the homeowner, who was using a garden hose to try to wet down his home, to let it burn because that is what insurance is for. As the situation worsened, and firefighters were still not on the scene, the homeowner reached again for the hose; at which point the police officers used a taser to subdue him.

My question is this:  Since when is it acceptable for the police to interfere with a man on his own property who is doing nothing to put anyone else in danger? 

Too often, police are engaging in overly aggressive behavior. I run across stories like this everyday.  Police increasingly use deadly force on unarmed 'suspects' or use much more force than necessary. Since when did our police lose the ability to communicate? Why is it that they are increasingly inclined to use brute force, rather than dialogue? 

I'm of the opinion that this is just another sign of how off kilter our society has become. At the root of the problem lies the dog-eat-dog, ruthless, social Darwinism brought about by the Ayn Rand aficionados and the ensuing corporate culture that has robbed us of our sense of empathy and practically destroyed our sense of community.  

We can do better than this.

Police Taser Homeowner For Trying To Save Burning House With Garden Hose