There are many different people in the world and as many people as are out there I realize there are at least that many
opinions. I say this because I realize that my opinion is, far too often, unpopular. I choose to believe that this is because I have a
moral character that regards ethics as a bare minimum and strive to achieve a
goal far higher than simply allowable. Of course, since this is my blog, this is where I have the opportunity to share my opinion.
I live on a pretty busy street and it
seems like I see a police officer driving past my house daily. I hear sirens at
least twice a week and sometimes they drive by my house with the sirens blaring
and lights flashing. It has occurred to me on many different occasions, as
those who know me understand, that people tend to dislike police officers. The
times you typically see police officers is generally the worst part of your
day. You have a traffic collision, you get a ticket, someone hits you, etc.
Police officers are great for everyone until they are dealing with you. I have
no delusions that I will change anyone's mind about this, however, I would like
to take a moment to change your perspective a little.
The entire day has been horrible. The rain
hasn't stopped until just moments ago when it finally slowed to a drizzle, and
it's been raining for at least a week straight. It's still only forty-five
degrees Fahrenheit and you forgot your umbrella. You're driving down the street on your way
to lunch, driving the car you always drive. It's not the newest model, but at
least it's yours. The light turns red. Again. It seems like every light is
changing just to slow you down. It's been a long day with plenty of
frustrations for everyone and just to add on to it all, you are late to lunch.
As you are finally seeing a glimmer of hope as you turn the corner, just blocks
from the restaurant, the day gets worse. There are red and blue lights flashing
somewhere and you can hear the sirens. You look in the mirror as a police car
flies up behind you. "Don't stop me, I didn't do anything", you think
as you pull to the right side of the road and wait. The police car stops behind
you, lights still flashing and the siren stops. Great. Just another thing to
add to the irritations of the day. The police officer steps out of the car, just
yards behind yours, and approaches your door. You can see his face in the
mirror as he gets closer to you. He has a badge on his chest and a gun on his
hip. He's wearing a pair of sunglasses on his face and it almost looks like
he's smirking.
I'll pause the scenario here. Think about
the vehicle you drive, the town you live in, and the driving habits you have
developed. These are just a few of the contributing factors. What could you
have done to be stopped? What could be wrong with your car? There are thousands
of traffic laws that change from city to city, state to state, even country to
country. Here in the United States, we are very fortunate that there are many
laws that may be a violation in one state that are acceptable in our home
state, and because this is the case, there are many states that recognize that
you may not be able to comply and will allow the violation through their state.
Even though you might be stopped multiple times.
Now, I would like to take a moment to
address the statement that many people make and even believe. "I didn't do
anything wrong." It has come to my attention that the United States has a
pretty powerful Constitution (even if it doesn't seem to exist in
current times) that protects the peoples' rights. One of those rights, covered
in the fourth amendment, is protection "against unreasonable searches and
seizures". This includes traffic stops. Traffic stops are a "seizure"
of sorts. Keep in mind that the fourth amendment protects against unreasonable
seizure, not any seizure. In order to initiate a traffic stop, law enforcement
officers must have a reason to stop the vehicle. This may be a traffic
infraction, equipment violation, or perhaps your vehicle looks like a vehicle
that was identified in a crime that has occurred somewhere else in the city.
These are just a few reasons you could be stopped, and are typically the most
common reasons.
Now, if we go back to the scenario, what
is it that you might have done wrong?
"Good afternoon. My name is Officer
Friendly with the Municipal Police department. The reason I have stopped you
today is because you have a brake light out on the drivers' side of your
vehicle."
Are you relieved? Perhaps angry? Maybe you
are dumbfounded?
"You stopped me for a brake light
being out? Don't you have something better to do with your time? Why don't you
go stop some real crime? We have a real drug problem here! Why don't you go
arrest a drug dealer?"
The conversation would probably proceed
something like this:
"I understand that you're upset. If I
could just see your drivers' license, I'll have you on your way momentarily."
Of course you comply. He did say that he
would have you on your way soon. You hand him your license and he steps back to
his vehicle. He returns to your door just a minute later and hands you your
drivers' license.
"I'm just going to give you a verbal
warning. Just get the brake light fixed later. Drive safely."
At this point he returns to his car and
the lights turn off. You continue to lunch and never see that officer
again.
I base this conversation on personal
experience. Think about it for a minute though. What is the first thing they
teach you to do before you get into the car at drivers education? They tell you
to check your fluids and walk around your vehicle to look the vehicle over. How
many of us actually check to see if our lights are functioning? How many of us
can actually check our brake lights? I don't usually have a second person
around to push the brake so that I can make sure that the light is functioning.
When I look back on the situation, and
understanding that the fourth amendment protects us from unreasonable seizure,
I now understand that anytime a law enforcement officer stops me, they are
required to have a reason. Someone has to have violated the law. Maybe I wasn't
the one who violated the law, or maybe I didn't know I violated the law.
Perhaps I get a verbal or a written warning and I am told to fix my light. Now
to change perspective a little. If a law enforcement officer has a reason to
stop you and gives you a warning (written or verbal), then they have a reason
to stop you, and they chose not to cite you for the violation. This is the
thought that crossed my mind. Anytime an officer stops someone and gives them a
warning, they are showing mercy.
So many of us take everyday occurrences
for granted. We think we deserve everything we get. This example is a good
example of how we don't always receive what we deserve. And sometimes that's a
good thing. This is just one of the many examples of things we take for
granted. Think about the things in your life that you have been given that you
didn't deserve. Think about the things you didn't get, but maybe you did
deserve. Especially if you live in the United States.
We have electricity as often as we want.
If you want something, go buy it. Don't have enough money? Get a second job. We
may not have a perfect country, but we have it pretty good. There are many
options that we have that most of the world doesn't even hope for.
We haven't had to deal with a war on our own soil since the
Civil War, and yet we have been fighting across the world since the conception
of the United States. Forget about the fact that many of us don't understand
why we are fighting wars and be thankful that we haven't had to fight anyone
here.
It is
almost Thanksgiving, so I suppose in that spirit I urge you to consider your
life and be thankful for what you have. Don't complain today. Take a full
twenty-four hours to keep your complaints to yourself, because someone has it
worse.
