Police Officers are Critical to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Thank a cop this Independence Day
While giving a speech on the Senate floor several years ago, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa made a profound statement regarding law enforcement’s role in ensuring our rights.
Given that tomorrow is our nation’s 249th birthday, I thought it would be a good time to share the Senator’s words.
“In our own Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers spoke of certain unalienable rights, endowed by our Creator. Those specifically mentioned were life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. None of these rights are possible without a citizen’s most basic level of security. And while the United States has layers of safety built into our systems of government, none is more critical to our foundational rights than local law enforcement. Maintaining a free, safe and civil society is squarely dependent on someone who is willing to answer the call, without regard to time or circumstance, and put themselves in harm’s way to ensure the innocent are protected and the law is upheld.” —Senator Chuck Grassley (IA)
Not every law-abiding American agrees with the premise that police officers are central to protecting these rights. One argument I hear is that if every American owned a firearm, we wouldn’t need the police.
It isn’t quite that simple.
To be clear, I fully support the constitutional right to carry, and reject the premise that guns are the problem. It’s completely understandable that given an ongoing police staffing shortage coupled with rampant crime in some areas and growing terror threats (including in places of worship), plus the inability of certain jurisdictions to properly prosecute, that gun sales have proliferated.
We also, however, need to respect that not everyone wants the responsibility of carrying, can commit to adequate firearm training, or has the acumen to carry. Who protects them?
That all said, using force represents a relatively minute portion of what police officers do.
The men and women of law enforcement perform other essential duties critical to maintaining law and order and defending our liberties, and they do it quite well when not restricted by politicians. They manage crowds, investigate crimes, take criminals off the street, bust trafficking rings, protect the most vulnerable among us, break up fights, testify in courts of law, and defend our civil rights.
The general public doesn’t have the temperament, training, time, organizational presence, or constitutional authority to do these things.
We are reliant on police officers, who do have the acumen, training, and knowledge of the U.S. Constitution to guard the rights we hold so dear. Without police officers, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our God-given rights as our Founders fought for and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, one of our nation’s most sacred documents.
Police coalition member, Henry Morris, founder of Support Our Shields, summed it up perfectly:
"If we lose our peace officers, we lose America." —
With that, I hope all of you have an amazing Independence Day. I’m not much into crowds and hot, buggy weather (it’s brutal here), so I’ll be taking at least some of this time to catch up on reading.
One book I’m in the midst of reading and can recommend is The Constitution of the United States - and Other Patriotic Documents by Gregg Jarrett. Perfect reading for this Independence Day, and I was able to snatch it for $2.99 on Kindle.
If you see a police officer this weekend, please offer up your thanks.
I keep in front of me that not everyone in the world experiences the same freedoms that we as Americans tend to take for granted. I’m grateful (and proud) to be an American, and for the men and women of law enforcement. How about you?
Added Note: I just read that the One Big Beautiful Bill has passed. This means Congress can again focus on other pressing issues, including getting critical police bills across the finish line. It’s been tough to communicate with staffers these past couple of weeks as they’ve been preoccupied. The coming weeks should be more productive.
For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.
Thank you for your unwavering support!