I wrote the italicized text for another forum, but I’m reposting it here because my head and heart and the times demand it…

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We’ll soon be in the month of our national Independence Day so it’s appropriate to point out that we’re living in an Age of Heroes.  We’ve had heroes all along, of course — the Founding Fathers and Mothers, the military who defend the country we’ve built, the first responders who run toward danger to protect the rest of us. 

Less lauded but still crucial is another group of heroes – parents, teachers, caregivers and others who take on responsibility for nurturing and supporting people who for whatever reason can’t handle the challenge themselves.  These heroes may not risk bodily damage but the emotional toll can be devastating.  It says something positive for our society that we have so many in this group.

But in the past few months we’ve come to recognize yet another category of heroism.  From maintenance and transportation staff to the entire farm‑to‑table supply chain workforce, these people have quietly continued their tasks in the face of COVID‑19, with or without protective measures in place.  Without their brave efforts our cities and economy would have been weakened far more than they have been. 

Those three categories together comprise a significant fraction of our population.  In my opinion, there’s a lesson there that our country has been too slow to learn.  Humans got where we are because we’re a societal species.  The Western Frontier closed a century ago.  Even the legendarily reclusive “mountain men” had to come into town occasionally for medical care or supplies they just couldn’t produce on their own.  In the past few months, our distress with social distancing and our burgeoning activity on social media highlight just how much we want/need to interact with other people.

Like it or not, we are all part of society.  Moreover, the smooth functioning of our society depends on our collaboration.  I’m not arguing an absolutist position here – cooperation leaves plenty of room for competition and individual liberty (how best to organize the economy is a separate discussion).  But I do think we need official and explicit recognition of the fact that what I do affects you and what you do affects me.

Here’s my modest proposal – let’s rename the Fourth of July as National Interdependence Day.

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Part of being societal, of course, is the impulse to protect those about us. That’s why many of those on the Thin Blue Line got into the force and I’m grateful and more than a little awed. But as we’ve seen, some of them don’t live up to what’s expected of them.

“There’s some bad apples in every barrel,” has been said too often. The question is, why are they still there? The line officers know better than anyone else the characters of their peers. Can’t they get rid of the bad apples themselves?

The most common defense I’ve heard from my LEO friends has been along the lines of, “Out there we can only survive if we know we have each other’s backs. If I write up a complaint and if the higher-ups don’t desk or boot the guy, he’ll look the other way the next time something goes down when we’re on the street together.” That culture must change, for the sake of the good cops and the rest of us.

There are some indications that the no-snitch attitude may be changing as the unions and PD administrators and prosecutors realize that bad cops directly contribute to the deadly conditions the rest have to work under. I sure hope so.

In closing, I highly recommend this thought piece from Trevor Noah, who is far more than a comedian. Please do listen through to the end. Then think about it. Then do something.

~~ Rich Olcott