In all human societies power rules. From the father in his cave to the king before his army, he who has the power to defend the door or knock it down calls the shots behind it.
Those of us who are subject to that power have only three choices. We can submit to it, modify it by persuasion, or modify it via power itself.
In the case of a good father or king, submission for the most part is not a problem. And if the good father or king be found to be too stern or thoughtless, because he is good, he may be moved by persuasion.
But if the father or king is cruel or a fool, the family or kingdom will suffer terribly, one way or the other.
Modern man and woman may chafe at the idea that we must be subject to a higher authority, but the reality is that we humans are hierarchical to the marrow, and any attempt to make it otherwise will only lead to confusion, disorder, or even chaos.
Now let’s talk about the police power, an organic, inevitable, and necessary part of all human polities. It is an institution born of our human nature, charged to defend the door, or break it down as the case may be.
In our culture we have something called the rule of law, a cultural inheritance from Western Civilisation and the British tradition in particular. Indeed it is a precious inheritance in as much as we respect it for it operates from within us, acting as an internal brake or voice against our thoughtless or selfish instincts.
All enduring societies will have those that wield the proverbial sword, and they who wield it, can call the shots. But it is the respect for the rule of law in our culture that has allowed for the emergence of police institutions which act as the people’s servant, as opposed to their ruler.
If we respect the rule of law, we, by extension, respect those who enforce it.
And this respect is the first paymaster of the modern policeman, not his salary. It is this respect that we pay to law enforcement that makes it affordable for our civil government to staff its police departments with tough men who serve for altruistic reasons, rather than to serve themselves.
In contrast, without this respect for the rule of law and its first enforcers, you will, in fact, develop police departments that despise the people they serve, and possibly even exploit them.
In the absence of respect, you will only be able to attract to law enforcement men who are bullies, or worse those who seek their own interests, or worse yet, crooks who are seeking their own interests, or even worse yet, crooked bullies who are seeking their own interests.
But where respect is present you will be able to find men who want to serve because they are sheep dogs whose instinct is to protect. Or because they possess an exalted respect for the inherent value of law & order. Or because they are the hound dog that loves puzzles, the type that wants to track down that fox who has been getting into the henhouse.
And these honest cops support honest judges and DA’s, or act as a brake against corrupt judges and DA’s.
If we want to sleep well at night, and enjoy the fruits of our labours, then let us never forget to respect the low-wage guards at the gate who make it possible.
M.C. Atkins
Look Away... 