W.I.N. Wednesday: Thank You For Your Service
“Thank you for your service.” is a phrase we hear in airports, coffee shops and other public places when people see men and women of our military in uniform and want to show their appreciation. We should thank them for their sacrifice and service.
My dream is that we will get to the same point in our communities with the men and women of law enforcement as we have with our military. My dream is that it will become common for members of the community to approach law enforcement professionals on the street, in a restaurant, in a coffee shop (and after receiving that traffic ticket) and thank them for their service.
Law enforcement is a complex, challenging and demanding profession. It is a profession of service. A profession of men and women who have chosen to serve their communities by taking an oath to Serve and Protect. It is a unique profession in that you wear a bullet resistant vest, carry a gun, Taser, pepper spray, handcuffs, tourniquet and usually wear a uniform every day. You drive a highly visible vehicle equipped with lights, a siren, a computer, a shotgun or a rifle or both.
Few professions are like law enforcement where every day when you go work your parents, your spouse and your children worry that you may get killed on the job and never come home. It is a profession where you work nights, weekends and holidays and will not always be home for Christmas morning or Thanksgiving dinner and you may be at a domestic, a homicide scene or a traffic fatality instead of your son or daughter’s soccer game or piano recital.
Law enforcement is a profession where some people will hate you simply because of what you do. It is a profession where people will try to hurt or kill you simply because of your profession. It is a profession when people call you at their worst and where you see and experience things repeatedly that few people will ever experience once in their lifetime. It is a profession where you may have to take a life to save a life.
Law enforcement is a profession of human beings. They are men and women who have hopes, dreams, fears, aspiration, strengths and weaknesses. As human beings they will make mistakes sometimes. They are not Superman or Super Woman. Are there people in law enforcement that should not be in that profession? Yes, just like every other profession in our society. The majority of the almost one million law enforcement professionals in North America however, are dedicated men and women who want to serve and want to do a great job. They are not thugs, bullies, racists and murderers. They also want to go home to their families at the end of every shift.
Despite all the challenges and obstacles there are still men and women who choose to serve their communities as law enforcement professionals. They deserve your thanks.
What’s Important Now? - Make it your mission to thank a law enforcement officer for their service every time you get the opportunity. Make it your mission to inspire your friends and family to do the same. This is a very difficult and very challenging time for the men and women of law enforcement. Your thanks and support will go along way in helping them understand that their communities do care about them, believe in them, need them and support them. The silent majority needs to break the silence.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com
Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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