Two sorry excuses for human beings in Ceres decided to prove how manly they were on Saturday evening, Sept. 24 and beat up an 80-year-old man who was only protecting his property.

Everybody - except these two punks and likely their families who are protecting them - should be outraged and indignant over what happened in the 900 block of Hackett Road.

According to Ceres Police, the suspects, described as Latino males (I would write "men" but no real "man" does this to a defenseless elder) in their 20's, took a walk with a German Shepherd which was off the leash in violation of the law. Already we know the two are irresponsible people right out of the gate. They approached a home where Welba Arms was outside feeding his cats. The dog spotted the cats and became aggressive, rushing toward the cats as Arms said something to the effect of, "If your dog hurts my cats, then I'm going to hurt your dog."

Instead of calling off the dog and controlling it - which they were morally obligated to do - they decided to beat up the old man. It's too bad Arms wasn't armed to defend himself on his property because they beat him within an inch of his life.

The wicked crime sparked outrage in social media, with some using these words to describe the perpetrators: "Couple of cowards, "sissies," "trash ... put them in the dumpsters where they belong," and "scum of the earth." You get it.

The attack reminds me of the two teen low-life thugs who earlier this year killed 89-year-old World War II veteran Delbert "Shorty" Belton by beating him in the face and head as he was entering a lodge in Spokane to play pool. Teenagers Kenan Adams-Kinard and Demetrius Glenn were found guilty in his murder. Belton stormed Okinawa in 1945 along with 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Army and took a bullet yet died a senseless undignified way to die by street vermin.

What makes such despicable human beings? Former Los Angeles Police Assistant Chief of Police Robert Vernon pondered about such things after the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. He wrote a book, "LA Justice: Lessons from the Firestorm." It would have been good for policy makers to read it and glean the wisdom from it. Sadly, too many of our so-called leaders, especially in California, are only exacerbating the problem with liberal policies that create what Vernon calls the Social Dysfunction Welfare Complex. So while people like Donald Trump say America changes when we all prosper by bringing back jobs and gain employment, people like Hillary Clinton engage in race baiting and creating a climate of descent so she can continue handing out "free" money to people to retain their support.

Vernon believes that while some rioters were angry about the perceived so-called injustice against officers who beat Rodney King, he believes - as do I - that many were just taking advantage of the situation. It's no different than the riots that followed in Ferguson or Baltimore.

Vernon believes we have a world of confusion because "the guiding plumb line has vanished." In the words of "Land of Confusion," Phil Collins sings, "There's too many men, too many people making too many problems and not much love to go round. Can't you see? This is a land of confusion."

Amen to that.

In part II of his book, Vernon spells out the root causes of the riots:

1). Abandonment of our children (because children are not growing up in loving and supportive families). Life has become cheap to some because of the "things are more important than people" mentality. He says, "Many young people today lack a healthy sense of self-worth... they see no value in themselves. Their lives are miserable. And if they're just a bunch of garbage waiting to decay, so is everyone else." He concludes valuing things and money above people is one of the true causes of our culture's destruction.

2).Hedonism, or the pursuit of pleasure, whether it be drugs or sex. He concludes that single-parent households are at greater risk for experiencing a variety of behavioral and educational problems.

3). Loss of conscience. He suggests that all of us have taken actions that later caused us shame, but generally feel remorse or guilt. When the moral laws have been violated, he suggests that many today flaunt it. "The trend is to no longer be ashamed of our darker side," Vernon wrote.

4). Neglect of principles, in particular Judeo-Christian principles, such as lifetime family commitment, submission to authority, respect for property of others, patriotism and loyalty to country, honesty and integrity, the moral connection between love, marriage and sex, and the recognition of and accountability to a higher power.

5). Arrogant elitism. Vernon details how he initiated an Operation Cul-de-Sac program to reduce crime in a high-crime area by blocking off several streets, gating off neighborhoods to outsiders, increasing foot patrols, rapid graffiti paint-overs, garbage cleanups and bringing in tutors. It was a success with drive-by shootings dropping 70 percent and school attendance had increased by 200. Some politicians had a problem with the approach, calling it a concentration camp. "The power brokers got no opportunity to make people indebted to them," he said. He suggests that elitist politicians "can't yield power without a constituency. That's exactly what I'm saying about Hillary Clinton types who need to create racial division and income equality as a way of guaranteeing support.

Add into the mix the elitist national media types who spin for and protect elitist politicians like Hillary Clinton.

It's clear that good people must act to take back their country. And on a local level, someone needs to step up and report the identity of our two thugs.

How do you feel? Let Jeff know by emailing him at jeffb@cerescourier.com.