Again this year I attended the Summer Conference of the Maryland Association of Counties, held in Ocean City.

The conference attracted about three thousand attendees, the most I’ve experienced. The event was notable for the participation of our new governor, Wes Moore, his cabinet secretaries, and officials from across state government. Their engagement provided insight into the new administration’s priorities, objectives, and perspectives.

If what I heard from state officials is an indication of things to come, I am troubled. My gut feeling is that anticipated legislative initiatives, budget allocations, and state mandates will weigh heavy on the shoulders of county taxpayers and the County Commissioners and will further move Maryland in the wrong direction.

Ambitious programs, allocations for the Maryland Blueprint for Education, the expiration of federal pandemic grants, and other initiatives predict that state finances will likely be in deficit in short order. If history is any guide, state legislators and the governor’s office will likely foist on local governments more financial mandates to balance their books. It’s a song we’ve heard before – it’s an oldie but not a goodie.

The state legislature and the governor’s office are overwhelmingly dominated by a single political party entwined with special interest groups, unions, and the interests of the large counties.

Time and again legislators, the governor, agency officials, and academics embraced and articulated an agenda that I believe distracts attention from, and divides efforts toward, meaningful discussions about the complex issues facing our state.

Stereotypical rhetoric neatly laced with labels, cliches, and incantations of a fictionalized national history permeated among many attendees.

During conference sessions on varied topics, words like diversity, equity, and inclusion echoed most loudly. Yet, words like accountability, responsibility, achievement, and respect weren’t even whispered.

During a session on the growing crisis of retail crime, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown promised never to support legislation or apply law that held teenagers criminally accountable for their actions, preferring instead the path of repeated counseling. His comments received rousing audience applause. Well, not from everyone.

It appears the top Maryland prosecutor has a warm hug for criminals but turns a cold shoulder toward law enforcement and theft victims.

During a different discussion on police accountability, the moderator, Delegate Nicole Williams of Prince George’s County and member of the Judiciary Committee, supported by large-county legislators and staff sitting in the audience, expressed an unambiguous sentiment - law enforcement officers are the enemy, unable to be trusted. They are a problem, not criminals. I walked out.

Aside from smearing the men and women who each day put their lives on the line to protect and serve, the consequence of such thinking is that Maryland neighborhoods, communities, businesses, and individuals will not be assured the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of which we are all entitled.

I heard nothing at the conference - not from the governor nor the many state legislators who control the legislature - that gave me hope that common sense and deliberate and reasoned thinking will have a place in any deliberations of consequence.

The reality is these lawmakers and activists who sidestep personal accountability, espouse dependency over self-reliance, and force a reckless social agenda on all Marylanders, are in charge – at least for now.

Which illuminates other concerns and hypocricies.

What justifies wind turbine testing and construction off our coast without verifiable research into the impact on aquatic life and our Worcester economy which is sustained in large measure by tourism, sport, and commercial fishing?

Why are state officials taking aim at carbureted vehicles, outlawing their sale in the next few years, forcing Marylanders into electric vehicles that are ill-suited for the broad marketplace, lack critical charging infrastructure, are no less detrimental to the environment when all aspects of the supply chain are noted and the cost of ownership remains high, especially when battery replacement is factored in?

Consumers have every right to purchase whatever type of vehicle, propelled by whatever means, they desire. Government has no authority, expertise, or success in picking winners and losers. Let’s leave that with the public marketplace.

Why does the state education curriculum more and more resemble a social experiment for progressive dogma?

Why are state officials obsessing over whether little Johnny or little Janie is white or black or Asian or Hispanic or all of the above -- or scrambling school policy because little Johnny or little Janie has announced he/she, him/her now identifies as a cat or something else?

Why are parents of Maryland students forced to worry about whether school bathrooms and locker rooms used by their daughters are being invaded by members of the opposite sex?

Always there is time for empathy, compassion, and appropriate counseling when a child struggles. But government has no right to legitimize or cultivate behavior that is harmful to the long-term health and well-being of impressionable children, especially when contrary to the wishes of parents who have a right and expectation to be informed.

So, what’s behind these examples that are becoming commonplace in our state? I believe it is special interest groups, unions, Progressive-minded state officials, and an Anything-Goes constituency that between verses of “Kumbaya” are only too eager to scream bias and discrimination at anyone who does not share their views.

In another time and place, in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared his dream that individuals should be judged by the content of their character. I agree.

That’s why I’m disillusioned when state officials assert that expectations, opportunities, and achievements should be assessed and awarded differently among individuals and groups.

It's clear they believe fair treatment is achieved only when society accepts the sins of previous generations and genuflects before the altar of perpetual guilt. Such thinking chills to the bone ambitious, hardworking men and women motivated to better themselves, their families, and their communities. Each of us, regardless of station or circumstance, has the inherent right and expectation to endeavor as far as our ability, ambition, creativity, perseverance, and hard work permit.

Let no one - and no agenda - stand in our way or devalue our self-worth.

When elected and appointed officials promulgate, celebrate, and legislate generational, environmental, prosecutorial, cultural, historical, sexual, and behavioral tripe, and are intent on remaking the image of Maryland to more resemble a California or a New York, it begs the question… who’s looking out for our interests?

Who’s looking out for parents? Who’s looking out for children? Who’s looking out for teachers who desire only to teach kids, not social agendas? Who’s looking out for businesses that create jobs and wealth for our communities? Who’s looking out for law enforcement?

Simply… who’s looking out for our families and our communities?

It’s possible my concerns are misplaced. I hope they are. Because Maryland is my home and it deserves better.

I have to tell you that those of us who cherish personal and public accountability, those of us who want our children and grandchildren to grow up safe with a belief in personal and civic responsibility and be able to read, write, and do math, those of us who respect police officers and appreciate their sacrifice and the perils they face on each shift and those of us who respect the similarities and differences among our neighbors should not be forced to accept what our eyes, better judgment, and faith tell us is not right.

At this time, in this office, I know there is little I can do to change the agenda or direction of our governor or the state legislature. That doesn’t mean I’ll remain quiet.

State officials should recognize that each county is unique, that one-size programs don’t fit all, that classrooms are places to educate, not indoctrinate, that parents are the ultimate authority in rearing children, that law enforcement is not a punching bag, that the judicial system serves justice, not public opinion and that the individual rights of all Marylanders are sacrosanct.