A 25 year old friend was taking his younger brothers home with him to enjoy Easter break.  His mother had given him permission to take the 17 year old and the 11 year old home for 3 days with him to have some fun.

On the way, they were stopped by a cop for speeding on an interstate in central PA.  What should have been a routine stop and ticket resulted in a strange interrogation.

My friend did not fight the ticket; he knew he had been going too fast.  However, he had not had anything to drink.  All 3 were fastened securely in seat belts, and the hour was not excessively late (about 8 pm). 

Still, the cop began asking my friend why he had two younger boys in the car.  He especially focused on the 11 year old.  Who was he? How did they know each other? Were they related? Did the boy's mother know he was here?

Despite my friend's insistence they were his brothers, the cop remained suspicious, and almost escalated the situation.

This is not a big issue, and I am certainly not saying we should not be interested and active in protecting children, but doesn't this seem a bit overboard on the cop's part?

We live in a world where everyone but parents is presumed to be a molestor until proven otherwise. 

Let's remember that 90% of children are molested by people they know well.  This is well established fact.  Yet most Americans persist in believing in the evil stranger, much like they believe in the lurking terrorist. 

Children should be kept safe.  But perhaps, we in the modern age are overdoing it.