Jim and editor:
Regarding this post [1], I’d like to comment if I may.
A reply to Lebannen’s posting regarding caution towards police: I’m encouraging conservatives to join Law Enforcement!
Lebannen has my respect. He has values and sticks to them. However, I’m replying to encourage a slightly different point of view in order that good men and women will not stay out of law enforcement but, rather, will apply in increasing rates. My thoughts are simple. While I respect Lebannen’s commitment to the Constitution and willingness to set aside a career path to stick to his principles, I think perhaps he’s missing something. That would be diplomacy. I don’t know the details other than what he wrote, but I’m wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to keep his mouth shut or say something like “the courts would uphold it” rather than saying what we, as SurvivalBlog readers, are likely thinking– “that is unconstitutional.” By speaking his mind, (again, my perception after reading his article) he now can not positively influence the profession or act as a watchman for others or be that cop who let someone go based on officer discretion. He possibly left the position for the next jack booted thug to fill.
I joined LE about the same time Lebannen did, in terms of joining in my early 30s. I was set in my conservative ways and hated compromise. I had a tendency to say what I thought, which I checked at the door the second I applied for the agency. Okay, I tried, but while I thought I bit my tongue, I was still known as one who spoke my mind too much. I thought if the Sgt asked if there were any opinions that he might actually mean it; apparently not. I was hired, went to the academy, and was one of only three cadets who had even read the U.S. Constitution, even once! I did very well and went on to work for a rural Sheriff’s office and now a rural police department. I’m not a super cop, but I have had my share of experiences, despite being in rural America. I have never made an arrest that was unconstitutional or been forced to violate the Constitution. I don’t write many tickets, and I believe in Micah 6:8, which includes “to love mercy”. My point is, I’m principled and managed to make it in LE without violating my principles. Perhaps I wouldn’t make it in the notoriously corrupt Baton Rouge PD or Boston PD, but that is just speculation.
My summary in all this is to encourage conservatives to join LE. It’s harder and harder to find people who don’t do drugs, who tell the truth, and don’t get drunk every night or have not been arrested, so you have an advantage in applying. This position offers several benefits to your community and country. First, you can make a difference. No, I haven’t been able to change the world, but I have kept a person from being arrested when they didn’t deserve it, I have saved lives, and I have followed a person home who didn’t have taillights instead of writing a $150 ticket. I have helped write policy, have changed other cops’ minds about the Constitution and gun rights, and I even witnessed to many of them. I have made a difference. You will learn more about yourself under stress, which given the way our country is headed, is a good thing. You will have access to information that might give you that “early warning” you would need in the future. I know this is a harsh comparison, but what would 1,200 Jews say if you told them it was wrong [for Schindler] to be a member of the Nazi party? Now, I’m not comparing cops to Nazis, but it’s an analogy meant to say that sometimes good can only be done from within. We’ll never get enough votes to re-work our policing system in America, but we can get a good Sheriff elected who understands the scope of his/her authority and duties to limit or eliminate corruption by officers in that agency. It’s a start. Don’t give up. The system is broken, yes. However, it won’t get fixed by abandoning it. – PPPP