Dear Editor,
This is written with the most sincere thankfulness to each and every Cop. (yes, Cop emphatically and respectfully capitalized)
Every single one of you ladies and gents who put on that uniform, and lay your life on the line for those of us who rely on you to stand between us and evil, are truly heroes and heroines. Your job may have its satisfactions, but you pay one heck of a price for those ephemeral rewards.
To my way of thinking, it is unimaginable to go out every work day into a battlefield where, unlike a military battlefield, the enemy in not uniformed and the snipers and ambushers can be around any corner. Whether the Cop is city, county, state, reservation, or federal, the dangers lurk everywhere and all the time.
I am amazed that Cops don’t, each and every one, have a really bad attitude toward the people they have to deal with. Much of their contact with the public is confrontational at best and hideously hazardous at other times. I cannot help but think that the Cops’ view of the public must be a lot like the view seen by a proctologist.
These guys and gals must have the patience of a saint, to put up with the quirks and foibles of the, generally, law-abiding public. To have to constantly put forth the restraint and tolerance and professionalism is far beyond the burden placed on the common citizenry.
Added to all the foregoing, is the awful stresses and strains their job places on their families. Just think of the wives and kids who have to wonder, every day, whether their spouse, their mom or dad are going to come home alive and intact at the end of the day.
To all you Cops out there, you have my most heartfelt thanks, undying respect and admiration for being there, on the front line for all of us who can sleep soundly and worry free because of you.
Jack Hommel
