According to legend, the emperor Nero played his violin while a fire destroyed the city of Rome. The dictionary defines this expression as doing something trivial and irresponsible in the midst of an emergency. In Nero’s case, it revealed his total lack of concern for his people and his empire.

Last week’s Democratic convention left viewers with that same impression. Democrats totally avoided this year’s dramatic increase in violence and homicide rates in America’s largest cities. It’s a subject also rarely being covered by the liberal media. The reason is simple. It’s politically damaging to Democrats since they have held exclusive control with mayors and councils in these big cities, many for decades.

Last week, the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, reported that homicides increased by 37 percent in 20 large cities from late May through the end of June and that aggravated assaults also shot up by 35 percent in 17 cities.

The data from city police departments is equally distressing. Killings were up by 152 percent in Chicago over a 28-day period through late July when compared to the same time in 2019, while New York City has seen an increase of more than 80 percent compared to the same period last year, with the number of victims jumping from 581 to 1,095.

As of July 26, Philadelphia homicides were up 32 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier. Many innocents are among the victims; violence has claimed an average of three children per week during this year.

Frustrated and demoralized by anti-police sentiment fueled by a liberal media that bows to political protest groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, police officers are pulling back from many communities. The low morale among men in blue in New York City is reflected by the high number of early retirements.

Richard Rosenfeld, a professor emeritus of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri who has studied crime data, says the COVID-19 pandemic has also been a factor. In June he predicted that homicide rates would rise, noting that the pandemic and resulting economic downturn have exhausted public resources and budgets for police departments and hospitals, which are “crucial for responding to serious violent crime.”

Here are the top five cities with the highest homicide rate:

1. Detroit, (Mayor Mike Duggan, Democrat).

The large swaths of the Motor City that lie abandoned reflect one of the steepest population declines in the last half-century.

2. Memphis, Tennessee (Mayor Jim Strickland, Democrat).

Memphis ranks as the most dangerous city in America’s South.

3. Birmingham, Alabama (Mayor Randall Woodfin, Democrat).

Once known as “The Magic City,” today the crime rate in Birmingham is 112 percent higher than the national average.

4. Baltimore, (Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young, Democrat).

Baltimore continues to rank as one of the most violent and dangerous major cities in America.

5. St. Louis, (Mayor Lyda Krewson, Democrat).

A major economic hub and home to 10 Fortune 500 companies, St. Louis earned the title of deadliest city in America in 2018.

Another quality of life issue plaguing many Democratically run cities is rats. According to trap sales data compiled by AutomaticTrap.com, the 5 most rat-infested cities in America are:

1. Chicago, (Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Democrat).

Dubbed the “rat capital” of America, the abundance of garbage makes Chicago an ideal location for rats.

2. Los Angeles, (Mayor Eric Garcetti, Democrat).

Los Angeles’ overcrowding and homelessness have caused unsanitary conditions in the city and rats are an ongoing problem.

3. New York City, (Mayor Bill de Blasio, Democrat).

The dense population causes the Big Apple to be a leading cause of widespread rat infestations and the rodents are commonly spotted during daylight hours at parks, playgrounds, subway stations and other areas of the city.

4. Washington, D.C., (Mayor Muriel Bowser, Democrat).

Despite intense efforts to control the rat population in D.C., rodent complaints are at an all-time high. Among the neighborhoods with the highest rat complaints is Capitol Hill.

5. San Francisco, (Mayor London Breed, Democrat).

San Francisco residents are seeing more rats than exterminators can keep up with in their neighborhoods.

Other cities with high rat infestations include Detroit, under Mayor Mike Duggan, Democrat; Philadelphia, under Mayor Jim Kenney, Democrat; Cleveland, with Mayor Frank Jackson, Democrat; Baltimore, under Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young, Democrat; and Denver, with Mayor Michael Hancock, Democrat.

Plagued by years of mismanagement under liberal leadership and with the rampant anarchy and neighborhood destruction we’ve seen this summer, it’s no wonder many of our once-beautiful cities are experiencing an exodus by residents.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com