America is the greatest country in the world for a plethora of reasons. Despite its problems and poor political leadership, it's still a shining city on a hill full of opportunity and hope. It's also a place generally where good people stand up for others, even if it means putting oneself in danger to do so.
As a country founded on Judeo-Christian values, the story and principles of the Good Samaritan, which can be found through Luke 10:29–37, have historically propped up society and its people to do that right thing.
Over the past six months, we've seen two major instances where modern-day Good Samaritans have been punished for defending the innocent and putting criminals on notice.
Earlier this year, former Marine Daniel Penny was riding the New York City subway when Jordan Neely, a long-time criminal with a long rap sheet, got into the same car. Once moving and trapped underground, Neely started to terrorize passengers, including women and children. He threatened to kill them and had no regrets about his erratic, dangerous behavior.
That's when Penny and two others stepped in to subdue Neely, who eventually died as a result of his behavior toward innocent people on the train.
Despite passengers thanking Penny and the others for saving them from injury or death, leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Penny with a felony.
"One passenger believed he was going to die as Jordan Neely approached him. Another heard Mr. Neely say, 'I want to go to prison,' and she shielded herself with her son's stroller as Mr. Neely made 'half-lunge movements' at others. A third heard him say, 'Someone is going to die today,'" The New York Times reports. "A new court filing that seeks to dismiss the case against Daniel Penny, the man who killed Mr. Neely in a subway car in May, draws on the grand jury testimony of subway passengers to make the case that Mr. Penny was defending others when he placed Mr. Neely, who was homeless and had a history of mental illness, in a chokehold."
Fast forward to this week when another New Yorker stepped in to help a woman being followed and harassed.
"John Rote fired off a warning shot when he saw a homeless panhandler demand the woman give him $1 after she entered the subway platform through an emergency gate, not paying the fare. He then followed her and threatened to steal her purse," Townhall reports. "Surveillance video showed Rote telling the would-be thief to 'leave her alone,' pulling a firearm from a backpack and then popping off a warning shot towards the man's feet before putting the weapon away and exiting the subway station. The homeless panhandler is known to police, with the NYPD's head of Transit Borough Manhattan calling him a 'swiper' who regularly holds open the emergency gate in return for a tip."
Rote stepped in to defend the woman with a firearm, rightfully telling the thug to get lost and leave her alone. He's been arrested, charged with a number of crimes and will likely spend significant time behind bars. It's a grave injustice.
The story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible has been a key underpinning of American society for centuries. Helping others, especially the most vulnerable, when they are being attacked by evil or those trying to do them harm. The left's modern-day social justice agenda threatens this ethos, dissuading good people from stepping in. This will ultimately degrade society, which is, of course, the left's goal as they attempt to rewire what it means to live in America. It must be stopped before it is too late, and the citizens of even the bluest cities should fight back against DAs going after the wrong people.