National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

It's a thankless job sometimes. Being a law enforcement officer is not something for the faint of heart. Often our law enforcement officers deal with some of the worst our society has to offer and still try to come home with a smile on their face. The world is an unkind and unforgiving place at times and yet there stands the thin blue line. Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day...All across this nation, our law enforcement officials suit up every day knowing that it could be their last. They kiss their spouses and children goodbye and head out the door to keep the wolves at bay. Having their actions dissected and second-guessed by news media outlets across the nation, they still go on doing their job. Certainly, they don't like the negative press, but when it comes down to it, it doesn't affect them, they go out and do their job. Many times, they go out of their way to make a positive impact in the lives of people they come into contact with. Rarely is that reported, but they do it anyways.

When we think of law enforcement professionals, a quote by Adlai Stevenson comes to mind;

'Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.'

These men and women do not show their devotion in short frenzied bursts, but rather in quiet, humble dedication to stand as a stalwart shield between the malicious and the innocent. Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Think about the burden we ask these men and women to shoulder, to see the tragedy they've seen and to get up the next day and do it again and again. Maybe it's not a firefight with a drug dealer that put them over the edge, but rather seeing a small child maimed from someone running a stop sign...it really makes you take pause and think for a moment about how we ask so much of these quiet professionals, and they ask for so little in return.Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day...and they're still out there working, being the buffer, being the shield.