Those of us with sons or daughters in law enforcement or in the military – we share an anxiety I would rather not express.
I should not have to anyway. We begin and end each day with the same prayer, bring them home safely.
This past Friday three officers fell in the line of duty, from Michigan to Missouri to Texas. This comes as members of the radical “Black Lives Matter” movement call for the “lynching and hanging of white people and cops.” No response to this from the White House.
Members of the radical “Black Lives Matter” movement call for the “lynching and hanging of white people and cops.” No response to this from the White House.
The war on cops is upon us and it makes no difference if the officer is white, black, Asian or Hispanic – all are walking targets.
Typical is the case of an officer who ran to the aid of a motorist seemingly in distress. A shot rang out and the officer was dead.
These are our brothers, our sons.
Still no word from the White House, and no outrage from the news media, or from the public.
But when trouble comes, we call out to the police to please come and save us, and come they do. Cops risk their lives for us a million times a day.
We don’t hear about their every day heroics. But those of us who are part of a police or military family, in the United States or in Israel, we know the risks facing our men and women in uniform and once in a while we are tempted to shout out against so much injustice, but we have no choice except to suffer in silence.
We are tempted to tell our sons and brothers to “be careful” when they go forth to do battle in Ferguson, or in Chicago, Philadelphia, Camden or the thousands of other places that replicate Gaza.
They are being careful, as careful as can be.
But they can never be careful enough when they patrol the mean streets of America.
They can’t be careful enough when they find themselves cornered and set upon by gangs of shrieking Palestinian Arab women and children, as we saw just the other day in Samaria (the “West Bank”) where an IDF soldier took a beating rather than risk images of defending himself.
What’s to be done when we see this image and think to ourselves – that could be my brother, my son? Indeed, these are our brothers and sons!
We retreat into silence. Because to share our jitters with our sons and brothers is to rob them of their courage, their spirit.
They rely on us to be strong for them as they are strong for us.
Most timely is the section we recently read in the Book of Deuteronomy to prepare Israelites for war: It goes like this –
“Today you are coming near to the battle against your enemies. Let your heart not be faint. Do not be afraid. Do not panic and do not break down before them.”
And this:
“For your G-d is the One who goes with you, to fight for you with your enemies…to save you.”
Nothing to add except Amen.
New York-based author and bestselling Novelist Jack Engelhard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. Website: www.jackengelhard.com
No comments:
Post a Comment