There is an old adage which suggests that if you do not like what is happening around you at this time, just wait a few moments and it will change. While we know this aptly applies to the weather, the stock market, our golf game and a few hundred other situations; it now clearly applies to what is going on within the law enforcement community in the United States.
I well remember watching some protesters who had run out onto the outfield during a baseball game in Chicago, and the sports announcer who proudly described the police officers who chased the people down and removed them from the playing field.
With pride in his voice, he said, "There they go, America's finest, taking care of a difficult situation while we watch from the safety of our bleachers."
Unfortunately, our law enforcement personnel today are not always considered "America's finest." Too many mishaps have occurred and too many police officers have been called into court for their actions. Yes, it's only a fraction of a percent, but it has caused too many people today to lose their pride in the men and women serving in the law enforcement community of our country.
Unfortunately, the mistakes of some of the law enforcement personnel have caused a tremendous amount of stress among the rest of the law enforcement community. Along with audio/visual equipment in all of our police cars, we now are looking at having body cameras on most of the officers in northwest Arkansas. And, if that isn't enough, every phone I have seen recently has a video recorder built into it so that anyone may record anything that happens.
We like to think that cameras do not lie, but sometimes they do; and their presence sometimes causes people to react in ways they normally would eschew.
Regardless of what a police inquiry may reveal, if someone has an audio/visual recording of an incident, the national news media almost always decides that the law enforcement officer was in the wrong about something. Most of the time this reasoning is based upon decisions that officers make in their minds, an area that so far has escaped audio/visual intrusion.
And yet, we apparently have a very large number of "expert" commentators who seem to know everything, even the most secret workings of our minds. Thus, there is always a debate over who, what and when an incident occurs involving a law enforcement officer.
Having worked and lived with law enforcement personnel for now more than 22 years, I feel compelled to let you know that these issues are not as simple as we are led to believe.
Although they would never admit it, police officers today are scared. Not only are they unsure about how to intervene in a crime situation, but they also are scared some misguided person will not hesitate to shoot when he or she walks up to the door of a car and asks for driver identification.
In addition, many times they also are scared to go home and share their fears with their families, for if they do, then the entire family is scared for the officer and urges him or her to get out of law enforcement and into something safer.
Overshadowing all of this fear is the over-riding posture among law enforcement personnel that they must never be seen as being either weak or fearful.
We chaplains want to help our law enforcement personnel with these fears, and look for ways to allow them to share their fears and stress in private, so that their images may remain intact.
However, where are those conversations going to take place today? There is no privacy in the police cars, since everything there is being recorded; and it is certain that almost all law enforcement officers are not going to take the time to find a secluded place in which to talk.
The effect of this is to further isolate our law enforcement officers from any good way to offload the stress in their lives and work. In addition, chaplains today are too often considered as being "on call" and not an integral part of the law enforcement department.
Too many law enforcement officials today appreciate the work a chaplain may do when called to an emotional situation, but they do not like having a chaplain "meddle" in what is going on within the department.
Somehow they forget the many years of training endorsed chaplains bring to the situation and only understand them as someone who is merely an outside source of support when the need is present.
Yes, things have changed, and they will change again if we wait a few moments.
Gone is the trust level within the law enforcement community, and between the law enforcement community and the populace in general.
Gone is a lot of the pride involved in being a law enforcement officer and going home at the end of the day feeling that he or she has done a good job serving the public.
Gone are the opportunities to share confidentially with a chaplain (a pastor to police officers) and to unload the incredible stress related to being a law enforcement officer.
Maybe some of this will reverse itself in the near future. Let's wait a few moments and see. In the meantime, pray for your law enforcement officers. They need it.
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Box is the chaplain for the Bella Vista Police and Fire departments. The opinions expressed in this column don't necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.
Editorial on 09/30/2015