Our View: Can’t we all just get along?

Summer time is supposed to be one of peace, serenity and fun.

It’s a time when the community’s children trade classrooms and chalkboards for bathing suits and swimming pools – a time when memories are made and everyone is a bit more laid back and relaxed as we enjoy and relish the longer days, shorter nights and warmer temperatures.

But in recent weeks, our headlines have been cruel as a series of incidents locally and around the state have shown us that the innocence of summer isn’t a joy shared by all and that real evil still exists in the world.

In New Orleans, authorities are still looking for those fully responsible for a shooting on Bourbon Street that left one dead and several others wounded.

The people injured were not doing anything wrong. They were enjoying a nice night in one of New Orleans’ safest, most frequented areas. The incident sent shock throughout the state and country and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is left looking for solutions to the area’s crime problem in wake of the incident.

What type of Louisiana is a Louisiana where people have to fear for their lives on Bourbon Street?

It’s a Louisiana that isn’t as fun today as it was 20 or 25 years ago.

Locally, we haven’t been free from the hatred as a Houma man allegedly shot and killed someone this weekend because the victim knocked on a door and awoke the suspect, which angered him enough to allegedly grab a gun, pull the trigger and leave someone dead in the aftermath.

In this week’s crime blotter, we also have a separate story of a mother who allegedly left a young baby in a car unattended while she allegedly cashed a check and bought a few items from the establishment.

The acts of cruelty are sad and are not the image we like to think about when asked about the importance of summer.

But reality is what it is and we’re thankful our local law enforcement continues to risk their lives so that our streets can be safe.

After all, the pool’s warm and the children are ready to hop in.

Can’t we all just get along so that those plans can go off without a hitch?