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To the Editor:
In May, America honors police/law enforcement officers. These professionals risk their lives in the line of duty to maintain the safety of our communities while working to uphold the rule of law and deserve our respect and recognition. National Police Week was established by congressional resolution in 1962. It’s set every year during the week in which May 15 falls. The week is to “pay special attention to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.” The congressional resolution says the officers, “worked devotedly and selflessly in behalf of the people of this nation, regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves.”
Today in America over 800,000 law enforcement officers risk their lives for the safety and protection of others. About 12 percent of these are female. They serve with valor and distinction — and with success. That protection comes at a high price. Annually attacks on law enforcement officers result in over 17,000 injuries. Sadly, an average of 176 officers a year are killed in the line of duty making the ultimate sacrifice. There were 306 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2020. This 306 includes the 24 female officers who were killed in 2020. “Blue lives matter.”
Today, the major media have unfairly tried to demonize police because of bias against them and because of a liberal (left) agenda. Liberal (left), Al Sharpton, said they want national policing and federalization of all police departments across the country. That’s why some cities have had rioting and unrest, to justify the expansion of federal power into law enforcement. Many believe Summer of 2022 will see pro-abortion riots if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973’s landmark ruling Roe v. Wade that made abortion a constitutional right in the U.S. and returns the question of legality of abortion to the states. Already an evil pro-abortion group attacked a pro-life Crisis Pregnancy Center of Portland in sickening foreshadowing of pro-abortion riots coming this summer. Anti-American globalists don’t want communities to elect their sheriffs and police chiefs. National policing like gun confiscation is a step toward a dictatorship. Schools and parents should teach their children to respect police. Teach children when they encounter police to show respect, show their empty hands and follow commands. We in Carter County are blessed to have outstanding city and county police. Under Sheriff Lunceford crime is down almost 40 percent and burglaries are down by 72 percent and now we have one of the most capable and respected law enforcement agencies in Tennessee. We hope it will continue after Lunceford retires on September 1. In Johnson City they have had a record number of shootings. I know of six shootings in the last six weeks. The Bible in 2 Timothy says in these last days before the return of Jesus dangerous times would come and lawlessness shall abound. So police are needed more than ever. One of the names of the coming Anti-Christ is the lawless one. Anarchy shouldn’t be promoted by our major media. No one is safe to work or attend church or do anything else when there’s anarchy. Police are serving God by restraining evil and providing justice, law and order. (Romans 13:4) The least we can do is thank, respect and pray for our police as, “the rule of the law protects us all!”
Here’s some highlights of Paul Harvey’s “Policeman.” “A policeman is a composite of what all men are, mingling of a saint and sinner, dust and deity. Gulled statistics wave the fan over the stinkers, underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are new. What they really mean is that they are exceptional, unusual, not commonplace. Buried under the frost is the fact: Less than one-half of one percent of policemen misfit the uniform. What is a policeman made of? He, of all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won. He must make instant decisions which would require months for a lawyer to make. If he hurries, he’s careless; if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. A policeman must know everything — and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman. And, of course, he’d have to be a genius…For he will have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary! Paul Harvey…Good day.”

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton