It got me thinking about being a police officer, and how much pressure my husband, and the thousands of men and women in law enforcement must deal with on a daily basis. I know that every second of the job isn't stressful. My husband enjoys his job immensely, and I do, too. It's part of the "asphalt" we travel on. We've been on this particular trip together for over 17 years now, and he was on the journey long before I came along. I'm proud of him and the job that he does for our department, and I'm proud of our department and all that they do in our community.
The more I looked at that cute little cartoon, the more I envisioned it with a police hat, badge, and radio. I mean, the pressure that law enforcement has been under lately has been huge. Monumental, even. I see our country's leaders doing very little to help our men and women out, and everything they can do to make their jobs harder. I see people on facebook every day bashing police officers left and right, and while I tend to let it roll off my back most of the time, sometimes it's hard. And, please, don't get me started on our media. I mean, who cares who they hurt in their process of reporting "the news". The officer has a family, friends, and a life outside of law enforcement? So what? If it bleeds, it leads.
I watch my husband go to work every day, strapping on his vest and his duty belt, and pray to Jesus that at the end of the day he's safe and sound where he belongs...here with me and his three kids. The vast majority of police officers are selfless people. They leave their families daily to go out and serve and protect a public that seems to not care much about what happens to them, that ridicules their every move, and then complains when they don't come running to their rescue in the allotted 26 seconds after they dial 911. These LEOs miss holidays, birthdays, and nights and weekends with their families so that they can go protect the very public that judges their every move because of their badge.
I feel like our town is very blessed. We have a local government that supports our officers, and our citizens seem to be very thankful for them as well. Our guys and gals do a great job getting out in to the community and getting to know the people around town. But, I see my friends with husbands in other departments though that aren't as fortunate, I see the men and women on the news that have lost their ability to work because of the media and ignorance of the general public, and I see the officers that have paid the ultimate price of serving the people with their lives. It just breaks my heart. Parts of our country are so shattered and sad. I'm amazed at strength that our LEOs have, and their ability to still go on doing this thankless job even with the pressure they are under. I am so very thankful for them though, and I always will be.
I asked a friend of mine if he could re-work the picture for me. I know that all jobs come with their own type of pressures, but when I see this cute little cartoon with a police theme, I think it speaks volumes. If you're out and about, and you see an officer, please take a second and say thank you. It means so much to them to know that people really do care.
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