A first-place pet peeve would be the systemic dishonesty found in our ever-so-predictable media outlets. 

Liberal sophistry, relentless bias, selective application of facts, and propaganda-driven methodologies remain a persisting source of concern.

Why? Because if our republic is to survive, information and truth are a matchless necessity.

Most journalists in our community function as data prostitutes. They sell their mind, heart and soul in the name of an encrypted script dedicated to the whims of a “they” with a controlling power, much like oxygen. It’s everywhere, invisible and more in charge than we know.

Running a close second as a similarly harmful fret is the legal profession. It’s a personal view that far too many members of our Buncombe County Bar are artful dodgers masquerading as paragons of justice.

One is reminded of the C.S. Lewis characters Screwtape and Wormwood. The misery generated, overlooked or enabled in the Buncombe County Courthouse could easily qualify that building as a local portal-to-hell.

Not many are in a position to publicly criticize the legal community. I am — and I value the opportunity. Here goes:

• Ashemopylae and the Six Hundred — Reportedly, that’s an approximation of the “anything-but-Spartan” attorneys in our community. Of that number, a dozen or so are registered as Republicans. Regardless of one’s affiliations, does that lack of range not suggest a point of interest? It speaks to a club, not a profession, and clubs are dependably dedicated to their special interests. For the majority of this club’s membership, that mission is less-than-earnest support for the real rule-of-law. 

 â€¢ Nobody’s unreliable timeclock should cost $300 an hour — That’s the averaged fee for an attorney in Buncombe County. What you too often find is someone who’ll keep you in the dark; be remarkably insensitive to the personal vulnerabilities associated with legal entanglements; offer no assurances on outcome; return your calls with delays, resistance or indifference; and make money fanning extended conflict through the machinations of an overwhelmed judicial bureaucracy. A surgeon behaving similarly may or may not show up on the day of your operation; will tell you that you have a 50-50 chance of pulling through your facelift; won’t accept insurance; and will forget to wash their hands before picking up the scalpel.

• There’s a reason so many are depressed — Do you personally know any happy attorneys? There are some, but most have the countenance of “can’t wait to smoke me some weed” customers at the Tunnel Road Ingles. Lawyers rate their career happiness at 2.6 out of 5 stars, which puts them in the bottom 7 percent. To get along, too many capitulate to the temptations of going along and thus lose an always-fragile connection to sincerity, character and integrity. As with all addictions, accommodation inevitably leads to denial and a loss of awareness of one’s surrender status. In a world where God grants the glorious gifts of free will and choice, most humans will choose safety and security over liberty and opportunity. Attorneys are not an exception. 

• If it’s not reasonably predictable, it’s rigged — The only time you will hear outcome reassurances from most attorneys is during your first exploratory visit. After that comes the bill matched to a soundtrack of crickets. That’s because judicial outcomes are remarkably erratic. Imagine a mechanic, home-builder, pharmacist, dentist, teacher or plumber performing similarly. Such dysfunction reliably comes from these things: neglect, indifference, incompetence or built-in system inefficiency serving hidden agendas. All are a source of shame.

• Where is the honor — The average illegal immigrant doing manual labor in America is grateful to live in a land of opportunity, meaning and prosperity for a man who makes good choices, works hard and stands on his own two feet. Contrast that with our educated, privileged and sanctified members of the Bar, who’re mostly satisfied to shuffle their feet on the anthill. Attorney spoiler alert – those to whom much is given, much is expected.

• The biggest shame of all — No one but the attorneys, judges and politicians associated with representing, adjudicating and financing our judicial system can change things. The fact that no one is seriously attempting to properly technologize, fund, structure, staff and streamline this necessity cultural bedrock is discreditable. For just one convicting demonstration of the need, ask your favorite attorney how long it takes to get a rape kit processed at our state’s crime labs. 

• There are solutions — For Buncombe Bar members of conscience, openings abound. I’m not talking about the Soros-funded artificial elucidations, stomping the mud out of America’s public safety. We have a worthy legal system, but we need good people to climb out of the habituations of the portal-to-hell and step forward to make it function as intended. Like maintenance on a house, that mission in never-ending. It’s called constructive activism and it all starts with just a few committed souls.

Until our local Bar, and others with responsibilities for our legal system, find their courage and character buttons, our judicial reality will continue to poison our community – and the Bar’s membership.