I was proud to be a part of the opening ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Washington, D.C., which commemorated National Police Week.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation designating the 15th of May as Peace Officers Memorial Day. He also declared the week that this falls on as National Police Week.
Another strange and uncomfortable irony is that the president, who was assassinated himself, moved to establish national days and weeks to honor police officers who died in the line-of-duty.
The Bible is the most powerful source of inspiration for me. So, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial inscription taken from Proverbs 28’s opening verses immediately caught my attention.
“The wicked run when no one pursues them. “But the righteous have courage as a lion.”
It is also worth noting the verses immediately following, but which do not appear:
“When a land is sinful its princes are many: but when a man is wise, and knows what is right, then he will endure.”
Solomon, author of The Book of Proverbs and the wisest of all kings, demonstrates the timeless nature of wisdom. Even though he wrote thousands of years before, his words still ring true today.
In our country today, the government is growing and expanding.
Debates about the debt ceiling reflect a government that is far larger than our resources. This is getting worse every day because we look at government to solve problems that individuals should take personal responsibility for.
While I am writing, the news reports of another senseless, meaningless act of violence, and murder. A berserk gunman in New Mexico shot and killed three civilians, including two police officers. The report contains the all-too familiar words “A motive at this time is unknown.”
The Hill, who reported the story, stated, “According the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive the country has recorded more than 200 mass killings since the beginning of the year.”
The outside and the inside of a just and peaceful society are both important.
National Police Week is a time to honor and recognize the officers who patrol our streets. These are government, law enforcement, and peace officers.
The media pays disproportionate attention to those incidents where police officers act in an unprofessional manner.
We are always searching for someone to blame because has become a society without an inside. We don’t want to look inside ourselves.
A society has to have both an inside and an outside.
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that only 39% of people today consider religion to be “very” important to them. This is compared to the 62% who believed this in 1998.
Only 31% of those aged under 30 consider religion to be “very important”.
These polls don’t ask those who claim that religion doesn’t matter how they determine right and wrong or if such a thing exists.
The rules that illuminated self-government are either fading or missing altogether. We are experiencing chaos as a result.
We are fortunate to have men and women with courage and principles who will put on an uniform, patrol our cities, even at their own risk, and maintain law, order and peace, without which society cannot function.
Let’s show them that we are in this game with them.
It is not an easy task to restore a sense of “inside”, recognition of right and incorrect, and personal responsibility within a society that has lost these values.
When we hear politicians say that the answer is more government, spending and politics, it’s best to switch channels.
