Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes. Sometimes our mistakes harm others. For most of us, workplace errors have relatively benign effects. Not so for doctors, firefighters, police, politicians and other jobs where lives are at stake.
That may be power but it’s also a burden. A heavy burden.
Look. Nobody defends the actions of the cop who killed George Floyd. Nobody denies that police brutality is a thing. But painting the entire profession with that broad brush is ludicrous and dangerous, as we’ve seen in recent crime waves sweeping the nation.
The data simply doesn’t support the bad rap cops are getting. In fact, the disproportionate number of incidents between police and people of color tracks with the disproportionate percentage of crime committed by people of color — often violent crime against each other and police.
I know it’s heresy to say that in this day and age but to me that makes sense. And you know what? I bet it makes sense to most people, at least those with a little common sense.
Think about it. Restaurants don’t have servers wait on empty tables. Doctors don’t treat healthy patients. Why in the world should police be focusing anywhere but where the crime is?
If you discount all the anarchists and activists you end up with a clear consensus: police are a force for good in our cities and our society at large. Most of the time, they are the only force that stands between civilization and anarchy.
No sane American prefers death and destruction over law and order. Peaceful protests and violent riots are not the same thing. They’re not even in the same ballpark.
Police are as much a part of our criminal justice system as judges and juries. Reduce the power of any one function and the entire system falls apart. Without law enforcement, laws don’t mean a damn thing.
It isn’t rocket science folks. This is where we are. If we don’t support our police, lawlessness ensues. Continuing down this path results in more crime. More death and destruction. Simple as that.
Question is, are we going to keep doing this or put a stop to it and return our civilization to sanity? Of course, this is a question for our leadership. But you and I vote them in and out of office. We need leaders who stand up for law and order, not anarchy.
Law and order or anarchy. It’s your choice.
Image credit Derek Simeone / Flickr