Pet peeve post tonight. I will try not to have too much vigor in my assertions. But, after more than 21 years in a military uniform, and more than 7 years of my life spent underway on a warship away from my family, months at a time, let me be very clear about Joe's viewpoint.
Cops are civilians. They have a special job, they have special obligations and restrictions, they were uniforms, they have guns. They have badges, handcuffs, specially painted cars, cool radio communications and stuff. What they do not have is a constitutional role as a member of the military.
They do not solemnly swear that they will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that they will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over them, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help them God.
They take oaths, they mean them, they provide a needed and very valuable and honorable service to the nation. There is nothing less important about being a police officer than being a military service member. However, there is nothing identical about it either. There are clauses in the Constitution that preclude use of the military as a policing force. The military does not have arrest and warrant powers. Until martial law is declared, the military may not utilize their weapons or force against citizens of the nation.
The reason that this sets me off so significantly is that I keep hearing we need civilian control of the police. We have it, they are all civilians. A healthy chunk of them are veterans, former military. Ask any police officer who was a Marine, if their fellow officers are therefor Marines. Be prepared for quite the response. It is not the possession of a gun and uniform that makes you part of the military. It is oaths, it is tradition, it is responsibilities and Constitutional duties and authority.
The conglomeration of "concerned" citizens that succeeded in moving forward some racial profiling legislation today utilized this poorly informed tripe of an excuse as to why their legislation is important. Looking into the camera, this middle aged gentleman claimed in ominous tones that the injustice that is occurring is because of the lack of civilian control of the police. We, here in North Carolina, have obviously abrogated the Constitution and found some way to do something expressly prohibited. Not.
What we have done all across the nation, is provide our policing agencies with militarized weapons. Terre Haute police probably have a tank. My guess is that the New York police force probably has a stash of weaponry that rival the French. Definitely more likely to use it to win than the French as well. It is a mistake. Not that the police do not deserve the ability to compete with weapons of the criminals, that is not a mistake. That we choose to do it by refusing to do anything to control the proliferation of militarized weapons in the citizenry, that is a mistake. No one needs an AR15.
I do not disagree that citizens have the right to bear and possess arms. I do, personally. I supported and defended that right for more than 21 years. I don't need a machine gun. I don't need a suppressed, fully automated .50 calibre sniper's rifle. I don't need a grenade launcher. I don't need a mortar. The arguments that anyone does are absurd and just plain ridiculous. But, instead of taking a common sense stand, and limiting these things as a first step, we have tried to hand out more of them to the cops.
I have several cops in my family. These are good folks, that I love, that I pray for, that I worry about. They have families and responsibilities and experiences. Just like all the current active duty military people I have in my family, or know very well from having served with them. The difference between them is a whole world of training and expectation. We should not ask our police to deal with civilian issues, civilian risks, and civilian realities with military tools. And we should not expect that their leaders, civilians as well, are going to be able to tell them how to do it.
Cops are civilians. It obligates them to a way of acting, a codex of behavior that matches that status. We then give them tools that do not fit that codex of behavior. We see horrible and predictable outcomes when civilians have access to tools that do not belong to them. Sandy Hook is an example of that kind of outcome. We see them more and more frequently. I think the cops have done an amazing job with what they have been given. And, none of the deaths that are generating the protests had any connection to military weaponry.
Cops are citizens and civilians. You get to a different place being in the military. You carry it with your forever. But, once you stop wearing the uniform, once you are no longer serving under that oath, you are a civilian. You never stop being part of that thing, but you lose the codex, the impetus for your behavior. Important, that codex does not come at the end of the police academy. Nor does one just like it. Instead, an equally important and honorable codex is learned and accepted.
I appreciate the duty and dedication of our police. But, they are civilians and it is important. It is just a pet peeve, but civilian leadership crap is the bleating of groups that are completely at a loss of how to demilitarize their own neighbors and children. We continue to ask the police to be different, but not the communities that generate the violence and upheaval and criminality that bring such heightened tragic outcomes. That is where we need good civilian leadership. And not the kind in a 3 piece suit reading his prepared remarks at a podium, but the kind that show the way to a job, an education, self respect and contribution to the community. It won't be found following Limbaugh or Sharpton around either.
I love the military and the police. I pray for them and desire their safety and well being. I love you alll.
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