I’ve been asked repeatedly why I author this blog, and the answer is always the convoluted reasoning of an officer trying to come to grips with working in a challenging field. Believing in communities, supporting and protecting the good in society, allowing change and accepting differences are all issues I try to address.
It’s a constant battle.
A lot of it is personal. A way to come to terms with the things I have witnessed and the atrocities played upon our society. It’s about experiences, and beliefs and a way of life. Rare vignettes of beauty make everything worth it. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about, and author Kurt Vonnegut says it best:
“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”
“We choose only once. We choose either to be warriors or to be ordinary. A second choice does not exist. Not on this earth.”
– Carlos Castaneda
This really struck a chord, as I believe a person is born with the inherent traits to be a warrior/protector/server of mankind.
And while not everyone sees those qualities within themselves, those who do recognize the drive for what it is.
Policing is a calling. It is up to each individual to decide if it’s a way of life they are willing to embrace. Because embrace it you must.
“The greatest test of courage is to bear defeat without losing heart.”
– Robert G. Ingersoll
Again, this applies to what the police do. We do not ‘win’ in every case we investigate, or every crime scene we process. But if we are not successful, we hold our heads up high and learn from our mistakes, knowing that if we make mistakes, at least we are trying to do the best we can and are pushing our own limits in the process.
In keeping with the week’s travel theme, I found a relevant quote:
“In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them.”
– Dr. Joyce Brothers
The Doctor’s quote also applies to policing – there are places no officer has gone, and we cannot expect to get there if we do not press the limits of whatever is standing in our way, whether it be laws, policies, or legislation.
“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”
– George Eliot
“Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.”
– Rosa Parks
