Cop, police officer, or sheriff, different names, same job; to enforce the laws and to keep people safe from crimes and violence. Too often it is a tough, scary, thankless job.
The unrest and anger we see on display throughout our country is the result of years and years of changing attitudes that probably began in the '60s and it will only reverse with an effort by the people.
Many departments are under funded (although I'm not a believer that money fixes everything), many smaller departments have a lot of new, young officers, and worst of all, many Americans do not have a high level of faith in the system.
All of this begs the question, what do we do? How do we fix things? I think that departments everywhere should take some public relations training. In my experience, the officers do themselves a disservice by their attitude and demeanor and they need to exercise more positive community interaction. Community policing might be part of the answer. But, the public needs to take some responsibility as well. We need to talk to our kids, in school and at home about the importance of law and order. We need to practice and teach personal responsibility. Most importantly, we need to stop jumping to conclusions. You will always be presented with the most headline grabbing, sensational version of events. Don't rise to the bait. Be a voice of reason and calm.
Remember, however flawed it may be, fixes will only come from cool heads and warm hearts on both sides.
Furthermore, they are all that stand between us and chaos.
R. Earl Warren
