By Michael Morse
It is easy to draw the line in the sand, circle the wagons and hide behind the uniform. There are individuals shooting cops and not respecting the badge. While some of them have strayed from the rules of a civilized society, it is because of them the rest must be protected by us. Good, honest, hard working people deserve no less than our best.
We are here for everyone. The public depends on us to protect them from harm, to keep the criminals at bay, to put out their fires, rescue them from the smoldering wrecks they sometimes find themselves in and to defend them against people who are trying to harm them. There are the protected and the protectors. We are the protectors. They could have been protectors – we do not have exclusive rights to courage commitment and valor – but they choose to depend on us for protection, just as we depend on them for keeping our society a prosperous, positive place.
The citizens we protect are worthy of our commitment to them. These are honorable people whose path in life is much like our own. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. All of us struggle. All of us suffer. All of us need to put our best foot forward and take part in the world we live. A business person faces things we cannot comprehend during their daily grind. I cannot imagine thriving in that world for more than an hour. The laborer puts in his or her time, and looks forward to time off, free from worry about thugs, bandits and nonsense.
It is imperative that we never forget that we chose this path. We knew that a career in public service would be difficult. We accepted the challenge. There is no sense complaining about it. All we can do is honor the fallen, continue to act like professionals, uphold the law, destroy our enemies, tend the wounded and put out the fires.
At the end of the day it is, was and always will be up to us to keep the peace. Everything else is up to them. We are all in this together. There is no us and them. There is only us.
