WHAT MATTERS

WHAT MATTERS
by Andy Weddington
Thursday, 03 September 2015

"Teaching civility is an obligation of the family." Stephen Carter

In the grand scheme of civilized society...

Race does not matter. 

Profession does not matter.

Nor does any sort of cohort identifier matter. 

What matters?

Civility.

Civility is good order. 

Through good order people live in harmony. 

Where the innate sense of civility and family teachings fail law promotes good order and harmony. 

Breach of law, depending upon the offense and either indirectly or directly, impacts everyone - disrupting good order, upsetting harmony. 

Consequences punish and deter in the name of civility. 

Officers of the law and courts and the citizenry duly enforce and safeguard civility - judiciously, in theory, doling out consequences. 

That officers of the law are being targeted and murdered is an egregious and intolerable breach of civility; to the core. 

The murderers do not matter. They are not civilized and once identified must face consequences, publicly, without delay. 

For example, known is the identity of the killer who last week walked up behind a Texas sheriff's deputy pumping gas into his cruiser and shot him in the back of the head and unloaded more rounds into the fallen deputy. Now it's believed Deputy Darren H. Goforth was executed for wearing of a law enforcement uniform.

Race of the deputy and race of the murderer do not matter. 

What matters is civility (and good order and harmony) was breached.  Consequences there must be.  

We should all care that that murderer is still alive. 

A friend called yesterday morning. Two of his sons are uniformed law enforcement officers who work the clean and mean streets in southern California cities. Without going into particulars he mentioned they have quite interesting and unpleasant stories about ensuring civility. 

He said, "I could not do their job." "Nor could I," in reply. 

Surely he (and his wife) worries. Of course, current events weigh heavy on mind and heart. To the dangers their sons face every moment on duty we did not speak. To surprise attack they must be vigilantly on guard. 

That we have citizens who answer the call to answer calls when civility breaks down is not to be taken for granted. They serve and they protect. Vital to good order and harmony are they. And in return they must be respected and they must be protected. 

That the chief law enforcement officer of our United States, the president, is not publicly and repeatedly expressing outrage and intolerance, and backing up his talk, of murdered law enforcement officers is in itself a breach of civility. Not to mention a void of what he was elected to do - lead. 

In fact, a family man and by default head of the 'American family,' our president is more still teaching nothing and setting the worst of examples. 

It is that simple!  So let us not permit any complexity nor fallacious argument(s) to obscure truth.  

In closing, last evening a news anchor reported that to date this calendar year 28 law enforcement officers have been murdered in the line of duty. 

Their selfless service cannot be repaid, but their (and family) sacrifices sure as hell can be honored and murders avenged. And must be! Otherwise why would anyone in their right mind answer the call? 

What matters?

Civility.  

Put that to a damn hashtag and send it viral. 

#civilitymatters