Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O'Neil once said, "All politics is local". So is policing.
It is difficult to process the murders of five Dallas police officers as they were serving the very public demonstrating against some of them. Shoulders sag all across our nation as we grapple with issues of race, ingrained in our history, and complex beyond the simplistic talking points broadcast during the latest news cycle.
I can remember a number of times in my life when the sight of a police officer has given me a sense of confidence, made me feel safer. I always hold these thoughts in my mind when dealing with the police - they chose to be here, they swore an oath to protect and serve their fellow Americans - and when we all want to run away - they run in to deal with - whatever!
This week, citizens of all political stripes yearn to be a part of the solution. But what to do?
For me, I was moved to do something simple - something I should have been doing with regularity, yet was not.
I wrote a note of support on a card and hand delivered it to my local police precinct here in Portland. Since the front desk was not manned over the weekend, I could not access the station. I noticed an officer in his patrol car and approached him to see if he would drop off the card for me. Once we engaged in conversation and I extended condolences on the loss of fellow officers, while thanking him for his service, it became crystal clear to me that here was a man shaken, a man in mourning, but an officer of the law, sworn to protect and serve - me. And he was going back onto the street, courageously, to keep the public safe.
The officer then ushered me into the station and introduced me to several other policewomen and men, who were readying for their shifts. They all introduced themselves and there was a moment of emotion in the room. I felt both humbled and remiss.
Remiss because such a small act of thanks, which took very little effort on my part, was so long in coming. Humbled, because I realized I had taken these brave souls for granted for too long.
Turns out I knew what to do all along. Reach out to your police officers today. Thank them, talk with them, encourage them, back them up, get to know them. We should not leave the idea of community policing to the police only. We are the community.
They need us now.
They need us now.
All policing is local.
Let's play an active part in keeping it that way.
