One huge thing going on in this country right now is a lot of police officer deaths. A lot of people think that it is because of racism; others, well, I'm not sure what other reasons may be, but setting all of those thoughts aside I'd like to speak out about it because it is something personal and important to me.
I'm not writing this article to get to the bottom of the riots around the country, or the racist cases between police officers and those they have "wrongfully" accused. I am writing this article because there is so much hate toward this group of people and it needs to stop.
One thing I don't think people realize is that being a police officer is a job. It is a job just like working at Subway or working for a big business corporation; it has its duties. But another thing people don't realize is that it is a job worked by ordinary people. Police officers are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, husbands, wives, and most importantly, human beings. They go to work and they come home to their families. They eat, sleep, and have fun just like you and me. Police officers are normal people living normal lives and doing their jobs to protect us as best they can. Just like the human beings that they are, they aren't perfect, they make mistakes, and not all of them are the same.
While you're thinking about what you just read, here is my personal message to you and to the world: killing police officers is wrong and seeing one's actions and accusing all of them of those same actions is also wrong. Accusing all police officers of one bad police man's actions is like accusing every human as being the same. The thing is, we are not all the same; there are bad people in the world and there are good people in the world. There are bad police officers in the world and there are good ones.
My dad is one of the many good guys who just so happens to be a police officer. He goes to work, he eats food, he goes on vacation with his family and friends, just like you and me. It saddens me that a lot of people in the country want police officers dead, that a lot of people hate all of them for just the few stories on the news. I don't know if the media is right or wrong about the cases, and I don't know if those policemen are bad or good, but I do know that my dad is a good police officer and he is not the only good one out there.
Whether this article angered you or inspired you, my hope is that you realize police officers risk their lives every day for the people in their cities. They risk dying and never seeing their families again, they risk spending time away from their families, they sacrifice a lot of things in their life for us and our safety, and whether you want to believe that or not, it is true. If you happen to be one of those people wishing some cops would die, I hope that after reading this you think differently, because blue lives do matter. If you don't wish death upon police officers, then my hope is that you spread this message to others, speak out and make a difference. Because in times like these, we are losing mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, friends, and most importantly, human beings out there.
It is time for the world to see the good blue lives, the ones doing their jobs and protecting the people of this nation. It is time for people to see the difference between the bad and the good, and to stop punishing the good for what the bad have done.
"The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong." -Romans 13:4
