The Herd:
When Community Policing Becomes Moral Cowardice
There is a common thread that runs through many of the people who participate in surveillance networks, neighborhood watch structures, and what is commonly called “community-oriented policing.”
It isn’t courage.
It isn’t integrity.
And it certainly isn’t justice.
It is herd mentality.
For all the talk about public safety and community protection, what we are increasingly witnessing is something far darker: a system that pressures ordinary people to surrender their moral compass and replace it with something far more dangerous—moral relativism.
Moral relativism is the idea that something becomes right simply because enough people agree that it’s right.
If the group says it’s justified, then it must be justified.
But moral truth does not come from the crowd.
And it certainly does not come from programs that encourage people to participate in harassment, intimidation, and the destruction of other citizens.
When the Crowd Replaces Conscience
History has shown us repeatedly that the crowd is not a reliable guide for morality.
Crowds have supported segregation.
Crowds have justified political persecution.
Crowds have participated in witch hunts—both literal and figurative.
The crowd is comfortable because the crowd removes responsibility.
If everyone around you is doing something, you can convince yourself you are not responsible.
That is exactly how systems of injustice survive.
Many people who participate in surveillance and targeting systems convince themselves they are simply “helping the community” or “supporting law enforcement.”
But too often what they are participating in is something far more troubling:
• coordinated harassment
• rumor campaigns
• surveillance of private citizens
• social isolation of individuals labeled as “problems”
These tactics are not justice.
They are collective intimidation.
And when ordinary citizens participate in them, they become part of a machine that destroys lives.
The Propaganda Shield
Another force that protects systems like this is the modern media machine.
For decades Americans were told the press existed to hold power accountable.
In theory, the media was supposed to serve as a watchdog.
In practice, large portions of the modern media landscape have become something very different.
Instead of investigating abuses of power, many outlets simply amplify official narratives while ignoring stories that challenge them.
The result is a powerful shield for institutions and programs operating with little scrutiny.
When abuses happen, they are minimized.
When whistleblowers speak, they are dismissed.
And when critics raise concerns, they are labeled instead of investigated.
This creates a dangerous environment where the public hears constant messaging about what institutions claim they are doing—while rarely hearing about the consequences when those systems fail.
The Paradox of “Protecting the Public”
One of the most troubling patterns in modern public institutions is the paradox between what systems claim to do and what they sometimes produce.
Authorities speak about stopping crime.
They speak about protecting children.
They speak about fighting drugs, trafficking, and violence.
But time and again investigations reveal something deeply troubling:
Sometimes the very systems claiming to fight crime are entangled in creating the conditions that allow it to flourish.
Informant programs have repeatedly allowed criminal activity to continue in order to build cases.
Undercover operations have crossed ethical lines.
Major scandals have revealed institutions failing to protect vulnerable people despite repeated warnings.
When these failures become public, they are dismissed as isolated incidents.
But when similar stories appear across different cities, states, and agencies, people begin to ask a serious question:
Is this just coincidence—or is something fundamentally broken in the system?
The Lombardi Standard: Integrity Is Not Occasional
There is a quote from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi that cuts straight to the heart of the issue:
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-the-time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while—you do them right all the time. Winning is habit.”
Lombardi wasn’t just talking about football.
He was talking about character.
Integrity isn’t something you turn on when it’s convenient and switch off when the crowd pressures you.
Morality isn’t something that only applies when it is easy.
Lombardi said winning is habit.
But when people trade truth for propaganda, conscience for mob approval, and integrity for participation in systems that destroy others, something else becomes the habit.
Losing.
Not losing a game.
But losing character.
Losing honor.
Losing the very thing that makes a person worthy of trust.
Many of the people participating in these systems believe they are on the winning side simply because they are surrounded by others doing the same thing.
But crowds have been wrong before.
And when people surrender their conscience to the herd, they may feel powerful in the moment—but history will remember it as a failure of courage.
Faith and the Collapse of Moral Relativism
Many of the same individuals participating in these programs claim to be people of faith.
They attend church.
They speak about God.
They talk about morality.
But faith is not defined by what someone claims.
It is defined by what they do.
A system built on deception, harassment, and humiliation cannot claim moral authority.
No program that strips people of dignity and due process can claim to be righteous.
You cannot claim to stand for justice while participating in injustice.
And you cannot claim to follow truth while spreading lies about another human being.
The Moral Test
The real test of any system is not what it claims to be.
It is what it actually produces.
If a program claims to protect communities but leaves people marginalized and silenced, something is wrong.
If institutions claim to defend justice but refuse to examine credible allegations of wrongdoing, something is wrong.
And if citizens are encouraged to participate in targeting their neighbors without transparency, oversight, or due process, then the moral foundation of that system deserves serious scrutiny.
Truth does not fear investigation.
Only systems built on fragile narratives do.
The Courage to Stand Apart
The real test of character is not whether someone can follow the crowd.
Anyone can do that.
Real character is revealed when someone has the courage to stand apart from the herd.
History remembers the whistleblowers.
The dissenters.
The people who said:
“This is wrong.”
And refused to participate.
The crowd may feel powerful in the moment.
But integrity—like Lombardi’s definition of winning—is not something practiced occasionally.
It is practiced all the time.
And when people abandon that principle, the outcome is inevitable.
They may believe they are winning.
But in reality, they are simply making losing a habit. After all that's what losers do.