19 years ago America revered its police officers, firefighters, and other first responders as they watched so many of them rush into the inferno to save people they didn’t know, had never met, and would likely never see again.
We seemed to understand and appreciate how the vast majority of them were honorable, selfless, good, and caring people and we admired them for it. That was the case for as long as I can remember prior to this year and the incredible 180 degree turn that has pit so many Americans against those same people.
So what changed in two decades to completely reverse those sentiments of admiration and respect among seemingly so many Americans today who call for the organizational abolishment and removal of our police from society?
Is it the police officers, as a whole, that became more violent, abusive, and lawless in their actions toward the people and communities they are sworn to serve and protect?
Is it the American people, as a whole, who became more violent, abusive, and lawless in their behaviors and actions in general?
Or is it possible that neither of those scenarios hold the answer to where find our nation in the year 2020?
I submit that it isn’t a seismic shift in how people in law enforcement see those they swore an oath to serve and protect, nor is it a massive American migration toward criminality, but rather subtle, incremental shifts, in the values, morals, and ideologies of the society we all belong to.
A society that has grown to love itself more than others. A society that too often first looks outward to place blame rather than inward to consider personal behavior, attitudes, or culpabilities. A society that is quick to judge and condemn, but so slow to forgive. A society that demands complex issues be explained in simple platitudes.
How can a society that has lost its faith in the divine, ignores the lessons of history, and admires wealth, power, and status over the basic principles of life, liberty, and happiness, expect to see and experience anything but a degradation of societal norms that leads to the kind of upheaval and chaos we are now experiencing in so many places in America?
I believe the answer is a simple one. We have to learn to forgive. Unconditional forgiveness requires humility. Humility opens our hearts to love. And love for one another is the healing balm this nation needs.
And one other thing. We need to invite God back into our country. His absence has a lot to do with the changes we’ve seen in the past 19 years…