I will get to the title post momentarily, but indulge me for a moment in some nostalgia…
Yes, that is me, back in the day! A reference to my younger days. In this image, that you may have seen before, this was after my Law Enforcement career, and in a land far – far away. It was at a time in my career when I was working in Terrorism, Intelligence and Covert Operations, and I had the opportunity to travel this beautiful world. Unfortunately for my travels, and airline miles accounts, almost none of my travels was to the nicer places, and none of it found it’s way onto my personal travel cards. It was a time when I was still playing cowboys and Indians (if I may be allowed to use that reference!) and all my limbs still seemed to work reasonably well.
So what does one do when those things become your back story? Well, for some you become a coach, a teacher, an instructor, a spokesperson, a writer and story teller of course! When you cannot get people to sit and listen to your stories, you write. But I will give a nod to some of my friends of old who found outstanding ways to continue their efforts to protect and serve our great nation and the world.
- Chief Tim Conner, Point Pleasant, Texas
- Chief James Craig, Detroit, Michigan
- Chief William “Bill” Scott, San Francisco, California
- State Senator Frank “Hoag” Hogland, Ohio
Good people doing good works! And there are certainly many others, in other places, doing other types of service, but that is my short and current list.
If you ask what are my activist or social interests? And I am presuming you are since you are reading my blog…and waiting for me to come to the point…
Well, after a career in service, one where you honorably serve and don’t make policy or the rules, my interests do not include a lot of the typical stuff.
Politics…
Getting Along!
Who is on the Left…who is on the Right? Who is Correct? I think Not! Nope, not one of my favorite interests…
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have a position. But America has gone “bat excrement crazy” over the dream of Hilary (not certain what that dream might have been) and the sales pitch flash of President Donald Trump! Agree or disagree, you know what I am talking about!
Yeah, each of you out there on the Left and the Right are more than certain that you are correct about your favorite and your hated one. And there hardly seems to be a middle ground that we, I, can identify. It is either hate or love…though there are some, like me, who simply move on with life’s reality’s.
Like the British say, “stay calm and carry on!”
But quite frankly, there comes a point when it simply doesn’t matter. Each side is now engaged in destroying the other. My posts, when I do talk about the political/social, attempt to find a middle ground based on facts and realities, and less on sensations and accusations.
In the middle of that struggle sits America. America, in my opinion (yes, I try but do not always succeed in avoiding giving opinions), America is being shredded apart from within, by Americans…
OK, there may be some…
Ruski’s!
Russian’s playing their part in stoking the fires of hysteria and anarchy and enjoying watching American as we eat our own.
But we really don’t seem to need Russia, or any other outsiders to start our internal battles. Americans seem to be quite capable of our own self destruction.
CHANGING GEARS
Yeah….Back In The Day…more nostalgia 
…It was one of the finer parts of being a cop, though many of you may disagree with this point. We tended to not need to chose sides when dealing with crime. If evidence suggested you did it, you were our huckleberry…our interest. If there was not evidence pointing in a good direction, we were fine just collecting the evidence and moving it along the line to someone else (Investigators or the Attorney’s) to sort out the mess.
Crime has my interest?! No, not any more, at least not being a cop. These are difficult times for people choosing law enforcement as a career. True,it was tough in my day as well. But things just seem to be a bit more difficult now. Today we read about snipers and assassins targeting police more and more.
https://yoursituationalawareness101.com/they-are-shooting-at-the-police-your-people-people/
And we do not hear people, yes, you guys, showing outrage and demanding societal actions.
PROBLEMS WITHIN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Yes, there is the argument that there are problems within law enforcement. I would not begin to suggest that to not be true. It begins with selection of good people, with good backgrounds, given the best training, providing the best tools and resources and working within a system the supports good work. We may not have all those pieces in place today. If I am being honest, and I am supposed to be, we never actually quite had that in the past.
Black Lives Matter, of course they do!
A valid message, yes, but perhaps missing what I suggest is an important element that does not isolate, separate and appear entitled. Rationale…if you want your audience to listen to you, you need to speak with concepts that keep them engaged.
Blue Lives Matter, White Lives Matter…question…which lives do not matter? Which matter more than the others? How about those I left off the lists? Should I get hate mail for leaving a color, religion, ethnicity, culture or tribe off?
They all matter to me! If your speaking, or writing only appeals and reasons with your like minded supporters, you are educating, and talking with only yourself and friends. Try speaking in a way that keeps all listeners, listening.
TRAIN THE POLICE! ITS ALWAYS TRAIN THE POLICE!
Should there be a focus on the large number of deaths among black and brown people involved in police contact? Yes there should! But where should that focus be best centered? Shouldn’t it be equally focused on the facts and the source? The source is you and yours…it is society, and not just on police. Every incident of alleged abuse, every incident that becomes disputed, every incident that has a result that is not perfect…in an imperfect business (law enforcement) results in calls for “police training.” Seriously, if the other involved parties, i.e., the suspect or person of interest, did their part, which is, obeying the law, it would leave the officers actions naked and easily observed and inspected. If you want to truly disarm an officer, follow their instructions. In most every case it will leave the officer with nothing to do but follow the law, correct procedures and respect for you and your rights. But again, there is more and again, it is an imperfect science.
What about the mothers and fathers, the households, Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, all forms of houses of worship or places of inspiration on humanity? And schools, to an extent. These are some of the places I believe…oops, opinion again, where the focus needs to also be. When we look at the issue of terrorism, we now frequently hear the experts, talking heads, like me, but not me, stating that the solutions begin with teaching the young, before they are radicalized or educated in hate and despair. The same idea I suggest for out societies crime problems and the interaction with police. But that is not the current state of things. So where are the mothers and fathers in this equation? Isn’t that the first, prime and best institution of learning for a human being?
And what are we teaching our young about how to be in society? What are we teaching our police about our citizens and people! Good people are grown in the home, by parenting. Those good people can either become cops, good cops…
Link:
Charlotte Officer Consoling a young man
…or pursue other more appropriate interests. Bad people are also grown in homes, by parenting…
or the lack there-of.
Are we teaching people how to be a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good Samaritan! Or are we leaving the door open to becoming a good criminal? Perhaps growing the next out of work welfare abuser!
Where are the religious institutions in this discussion? There once was a time when those institutions had a voice and preached peace and good will. They encouraged good families and parenting. They encouraged good deeds and works. They encouraged service. You, and they, say they still do. OK, so where do we see it showing up in our society? Where are the good works, the good examples, the persons being redirected to self and society service?
Moving on…
Yeah, I am still service oriented. I want to make people safer. I want our children to be safe. I want our homes and communities to be safe. Shouldn’t we be able to go on a late night stroll in our favorite communities without fear of a drive-by, a kidnapping, a rape or assault? Should’t we be able to go to a concert, whether it be Rap, Pop, Jazz or Country without the fear of being shot at by some lunatic, criminal or psychopath stranger with a social bias and racism or some other personal issue that has nothing to do with you or I? Shouldn’t we be able to be out in the world and not fear some freak driving a vehicle at us and other pedestrians on a sidewalk or in a park?
I say yes! And I know you do as well. But we need to come together to make our agreement on such issues matter and work. Is it possible that in this day and age of internet arguments and insults, media stories that are suspect at best and lies at worst. Can we come together for the common good of the country, rather than the Democratic good or the Republican good? It seems not! But I would like to be wrong about that.
So there is my interest…at least until I get so sick and tired of people and their indifference to their own best interests. And I must say, I am at times close to shrugging my shoulders and going my own way.
We do not need more of these Church shootings, or concert shootings, or club shootings, or suicide bombings, or lunatics driving a vehicle into people…
So, I will return with a future blog, with something to say about the next subject, but I will focus on the immediate solution, you! You are my interest. And you are the solution.
If you become smarter, more aware, you will not be one of those victims, your family will not be among those victims. Can we make it perfect? No, but we can make it better…we can make you better! Sounds like a line from the old T.V. series
[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071054/ ]
The Six Million Dollar Man!
The Six Million Dollar Man T.V. Show
Now don’t be rude and say you are too young to know about that show!