Never make a promise that you can’t keep
Published 10:55 am Thursday, November 8, 2007
By Staff
For as long as I can remember, I was always told to never make a promise I could not keep. That sentence sure doesn't mean a thing to anyone anymore, does it?
It seems we are promised so many things, but what we actually get is the complete opposite.
This doesn't only happen in everyday life with everyday people, but some of the most dominate figures in the United States – or the world for that matter – seem to always be making broken promises.
"I promise that this nation will not suffer," yet people are suffering everyday.
"I promise to lower gas prices," yet most of us still drive with our empty gas tank light on.
"We promise this is the best going out of business sale you will ever see," yet prices are way above what they should be.
Promises, promises … kind of like the song in the 1980s from Naked Eyes.
I guess the reason I am venting about broken promises is because on the same day that South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke was re-elected, one of his promises was broken.
We all know how big of a deal crime is in South Bend right now. Whether it be vandalism of a car, breaking into a business or home or robbing someone right on the streets. I've been a victim and I know a few others who have.
One thing Luecke "promised" the residents of South Bend was that we would try to stop this crime. He knows it's a problem, he knows it needs to be stopped, yet on Tuesday, the crime continued.
I'm sure most of you remember my column about my car being broken into. That was very stressful, but I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of stress my friend went through after coming home from work Tuesday night (this is the same friend's house where my car was broken into – twice!)
After coming home from work, he realized he had been robbed. Sometime between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. somebody broke into his house and took everything he had ever worked hard for – a flat screen television, Playstation 3, all of his games, DVDs, movies, cash, jewelry – it's enough to make anyone sick.
Now, here's where I got extremely ticked, he called the police, who came out to his house and looked everything over. According to this officer, he said he thinks it was a "staged robbery?" He claimed he didn't see any sign of forced entry. Well, I guess the broken window wasn't a good sign, was it?
During his investigation, he never once made an attempt to take fingerprints, pictures, nothing. Just jotted down a few things and he was on his way. Oh, and here is the best part, he tried blaming my friend's landlords for it, you know, since they were the only other people who had keys to the house. Wow! Great job by this officer. He does his job well. Let's blame the landlords. No, that's just him trying to make his job easier.
Just one week prior to this, an older gentleman was outside working in his yard after dusk and got hit in the head with a baseball bat by someone who stole his wallet. Yep, this person walked away with a whopping $7 and put a man in the hospital.
Great job on stopping crime in South Bend. If the police work is any indication, I can see why it's so bad. This cop acted as if it was a waste of time for him to even be at my friend's house investigating.
Needless to say he is moving and will now be living in Niles!
I have to give credit to our law enforcement in Niles. My car was broken into a few years back and the state police officer who came out actually took the time to fingerprint my car, even though he was sure he wouldn't find any, he still did it.
The sad part about all of this is that the neighborhood my friend lives in is actually decent. It's the historical part of South Bend and all of the neighbors seem very nice. There are doctors, Notre Dame professors and other successful people in the neighborhood. The problem is that the bad side of South Bend is quickly moving closer and closer and the For Sale signs are popping up left and right.
So, Luecke, I'm challenging you, can you promise to find these stolen items? Or stop this from happening all together? What would happen if this was your home? Would the police do a better investigation? I'll put money on it they would.
Remember, this is your promise!
Note to self – Never move to South Bend!