Soap Box

America has had several tragic events recently involving police officers and black males that have resulted in death and injury and has further heated up an already inflammatory racial environment to the boiling point and beyond, a sad fact at best and a potentially explosive one at worst.

Regardless of what some pundits and others with an ax to grind and who take the opportunity to be the first and the loudest on the scene would have the public believe, these unfortunate incidents are not one sided and for the most part not even racially motivated.

I would never deny that there is racial prejudice in America and it would be unrealistic to pretend that none of it finds its way into the law enforcement entities of this country, but having said that, as one who deals with a lot of police in the course of a year, I can honestly say that the overwhelming majority of those wearing a badge are a solid bunch of guys, family folks, devoted public servants who lay their lives on the line every day of the year, the thin blue line that inhibits the encroachment of the jungle, and sometimes it�s a thankless job.

The job of a police officer many times falls into the "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" category.

They�re expected to rush into a dangerous situation, make split second decisions and be right one hundred percent of the time. And on those rare occasions when they're not right they're castigated, disgraced and many times prosecuted.

A cop's life hinges on judgment calls.

Is that a gun the guy in the shadow has in his hand?

What's behind this door?

Can I stop this out-of-control car before it wipes out a half block of pedestrians?

What's ahead in this dark hallway?

And so many times the difference between making the right decision in a couple of seconds can mean the difference between life and death, not only their own, but the lives of innocents in proximity of the scene.

I was brought up to respect policemen and I do to this day. If a cop flashes his lights, I pull over, if he asks me for my credentials I hand them over, if he asks me where I'm going, I tell him.

Cooperating with a law officer goes a long way in defusing a potentially hot situation and just about 100% of the incidents that end badly could have been avoided with a little common courtesy, being polite, answering questions and not resisting arrest if the occasion calls for it. 

If you look behind most of these incidents you'll find that a belligerent attitude, a threatening statement or movement or the influence of drugs or alcohol are the catalyst.

Barack Obama has had the best opportunity of any president who ever lived to vastly improve race relations, but instead of walking a neutral line he accuses the police of "acting stupidly" or seemingly taking the anti police stance which infers that the cops are guilty of some wrong doing even before the facts are fully known or vetted by a grand jury, which tends to give the anti police faction some validity whether it's warranted or not.

Enter Al Sharpton, opportunist, rabble-rouser and publicity seeker, who has been known to shill for totally unfounded cases - remember Tawana Brawley? - and from there it just all goes downhill, as the media starts sensationalizing, many times ignoring whatever meager evidence there happens to be available, never checking the validity of the "facts" they're fed by partial witnesses, who regularly contradict each other in their rush to condemn whatever police involvement.

There is an inherent and extremely dangerous precedent being set here as tremendous media pressure is put on police forces and the screws are tightened by politicians who want to look like heroes, the police officers will become more reticent in enforcing the law if there's a shadow of doubt or a possibility of making a career ending mistake.

And who can blame them, after all, behind the badge they're people just like the rest of us. People who want to make it home to their families at night, people who's job, in many instances have been made all but impossible by a careless media, profit motivated "civil rights" leaders and politicians who will be the first to scream when the crime statistics begin to climb.

Well, America we can't have it both ways, we either have to respect law enforcement, show some cooperation and courtesy, give them a fair shake if they make a mistake or face the alternative.

And believe me, we don't want to do that.

From myself and the rest of the CDB family, a tip of the hat and a heartfelt �thank you� to the hundreds of police officers we've had the pleasure of dealing with over the years.

Keep up the good work.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels