Real men

I've been thinking about a lot of things recently. To start out I would like to tell a story about one of the times I drove from Sparks to Provo. It was after Christmas break and I was driving back alone as I often did when I got pulled over by a highway patrolman just outside of Elko, NV. I was frustrated as we all are when we get pulled over and went through the normal routine of getting out my license and registration. The police officer said the usual things about if I knew how fast I was going and why I was in a hurry and where I was going. Then he said something else that really changed the way I saw him. He said something to the effect that it was getting colder, the roads where getting icy, and he didn't want to have to respond to my getting in an accident. As I was driving away with my ticket I found it hard to be upset with the cop because he spoke to me in a way that I really felt he was acting in a way for my best interest and not just because he was on some power trip or because he had to fill a quota by the end of the month.

Daron (one of my brothers) is about to graduate from the police academy in Reno, NV and I have been amazed at the methods his instructors are using to teach him and the other cadets. Well, not just the methods but how rigorous of a process it is for him to become a cop. This made me start to wonder why he is going through all of this (getting beat up, getting sprayed with MACE, etc.) just to get a job where almost everyone with whom he comes in contact will be mad at him, people will constantly call him names, he will have to interact consistently with the filth of society, and people will even try to kill him. I asked him to write down for me why exactly he is going to be a police officer, and here is (in part) what he wrote:

Couple things here, 1) I feel like it is a calling. It is something I have thought about for a long time. It feels right. It is what I was meant to do. When I think of what other job I would be doing or would need to do if I was not in the academy, I cannot think of anything. Nothing else appeals to me. (2) I love the idea of protecting people. Not necessarily being the "hero" but a protector. I know I will have to work on Sundays and there will be times I will not be able to attend church. But I am ok with that. Here is why. I know that my family will be safe to attend church because I am on the street catching crooks. (3) I want to catch crooks and put them behind bars. THere are people out there that need to be caught and put away for a long time. (4) I believe that being a police officer is more of an act of service than a career. It is a way of life. It is who I am and it is making me a better person. (5) I want to make a difference in the world. I don't want to be the average Joe Blow citizen who doesn't notice people in need: Or if they do notice they don't want to help. Well, I want to help. I notice things that need to be fixed or changed and I want to be a part of correcting wrongs. That is just a few of the reasons why, and honestly as I am in this job longer, more things come to me that reinforces my decision. Things just make sense to me. I want to be the guy that runs to gun fire. I want to be the first one in the school during a Columbine or V.T.


I try to be realistic and I must admit that I don't think all police officers have such noble intentions every day; they are not perfect and have made and will make mistakes. But I have to believe that the majority of police officers are doing what they do for more than just a paycheck every two weeks. I have decided to write about this is to get all of us to reconsider our views of police officers. I have to work on this just as much as the next guy. I struggle with the feelings of loathing for cops because they are looking for the bad in everyone, they plague me with worry whenever they drive behind me because I feel like they are just waiting for me to make a driving mistake. But I have been trying to have a paradigm shift, to see them on the same level as the Armed Forces. The military protects us from enemies abroad and police officers protect us from enemies at home. And if we just happen to get a speeding ticket or some other moving violation then I am trying to see that as a small price to pay for having the security of knowing there are people in every city and county in the USA who are willing to give their lives to protect us.

In conclusion, I invite all of us to be more appreciate of police officers; pay anonymously for their lunch, don't complain when you get a ticket (it will be hard I know, but it's not like we don't know the law), and simply treat them like the good guys that they are. I am glad that Daron will be a cop; it makes me happy to tell my friends that my older brother will be a policeman. And now finally when I get pulled over in Reno I may be able to talk my way out of getting a ticket. :-)