Supported? Hardly

Share

Yesterday morning as I arrived at work, I noticed something peculiar. Just outside the parking lot, we drive through a school zone where policemen are known to be vigilant in their patrols. The car in the left lane entered the school zone without slowing at all, and as he passed I noticed a bumper sticker on his car that said “Back the Badge”. I huffed a scoffing hrumph as he sped away and wondered to myself how that could possibly be true while I watched him in the midst of breaking a law.

Earlier in my life, I performed a scientific experiment to gauge the degree to which people were likely to keep the law, and I’m sure each of you can testify to instances where drivers around you obeyed the speed limit because a policeman was in proximity. On the occasion of this test, I secreted myself in a bush at a stop sign that was often violated and counted the ratio at which people actually stopped at the sign. After that, I had my kid sister (then 9 years old) sit on her bike at the corner. The frequency of stoppage increased. After that, I sat at the corner in a shirt and tie with my clipboard. Stoppage broke 95%.

One Sunday in Florida years ago, my parents commented at the sparse attendance at the start of our church meeting. As people trickled in late, we learned that the police had held a sting at the stop sign a few blocks away and had cited perhaps a dozen vehicles for violating it. I have never forgotten that, and I have tried to always obey the law whenever I can and regardless of whether people around me choose to do so.

Much ado has been made in the last few years over politicians who claim to “support the troops but not the war”. Seeing as how the business of soldiers is to make war, that kind of statement constitutes a great farce of contradiction. If you don’t support what they do, how can you possibly support them?