Scams are Not Funny.... but teaching someone a lesson can be
Watch an old Andy Griffith show and you will want to be a cop, the relationships he builds with the folks in small town USA are priceless, fun, and endearing. In this time of chaos when up is down and lie is truth, Andy is funny and relatable because deep at our human core, we know what true north is, what a wholesome relationship is, what it means to be an attentive parent, a good citizen, a God-fearing man and well read. Not with a gun, pepper spray or a taser but his tongue, he kept both the town and Barney out of trouble.
In one scene Andy explains to his son Opie about feuding families using Romeo and Juliet as an example:
“Now Opie, there was this boy and girl who were in love with each other just like Josh and Hannah, only their daddy’s didn’t get along either and what Romeo used to do in order to see Juliet is he would put on a disguise and go on over to her house and he was over there this night, standing by the punch bowl and having a good time! And he seen Juliet come down these high steps and he was so struck by her; he gave a soliloquy right there!”
“Pa, what is a soliloquy?” Opie asks, Andy answers, “Well son, it’s when you look way off and kind of talk to yourself! They used to do that a whole lot back then. If you do it today, somebody will take you away!” Opie smiles with complete understanding.
Andys good humor, taking time with his child to explain complex topics are the stuff of, well, Mayberry. But it could be your small town too, if and when you support your local small-town police, a thank you card for keeping the town safe while you sleep soundly at night would go along way.
The history of law enforcement is relatively new, in colonial times there were citizen night watchmen, before that, the kings’ soldiers. The first police department in the United States was established in New York City in 1844. But as much as the police protect us, we must protect them from the media that twists the truth and lawyers that seek to remove qualified immunity and treat them as criminals to enrich their own pockets. When no one wants to be a cop anymore, the standards get dropped resulting in thugs watching thugs. Even more terrifying is when local police are no more and state police are brought in, people who have no vested interest in your small community, who do not care about you. What does a police state look like, look no further than the NKVD, the police vehicle that drove Stalin’s purges. Its main purpose, “national security,” and they made sure everyone knew they were in town. People were arrested and sent to work camps for the most mundane things, individuals would report on their friends and neighbors for fear of the NKVD police coming for them if they did not report suspicious activity.
Thanks to God, we are not there, but we are always close and that is why local police are the best police. I fondly remember my time as a cop, yes, like any profession, there were good ones and bad ones. For me I will always fondly remember the good times, the town drunk the local check bouncer, the toothless meth addict; and when I saw them on the street later, they remembered and respected me because, like Andy, I cared. I can say that often when I did come across someone I had arrested or spoken with, that many had their personal lives turned around for the better. Not just because of me but because there was strong community behind them with plenty of resources, a balancing act, just enough social services, just enough of the local pastor telling them to straighten up and fly right, just enough law enforcement to tap them back in place when they got too far out of line. Be a cop, or if you’re too old encourage a young person because we need good people to be cops - if you’re in doubt, just watch an episode of Andy Griffith!
Watch an old Andy Griffith show and you will want to be a cop, the relationships he builds with the folks in small town USA are priceless, fun, and endearing. In this time of chaos when up is down and lie is truth, Andy is funny and relatable because deep at our human core, we know what true north is, what a wholesome relationship is, what it means to be an attentive parent, a good citizen, a God-fearing man and well read. Not with a gun, pepper spray or a taser but his tongue, he kept both the town and Barney out of trouble.
In one scene Andy explains to his son Opie about feuding families using Romeo and Juliet as an example:
“Now Opie, there was this boy and girl who were in love with each other just like Josh and Hannah, only their daddy’s didn’t get along either and what Romeo used to do in order to see Juliet is he would put on a disguise and go on over to her house and he was over there this night, standing by the punch bowl and having a good time! And he seen Juliet come down these high steps and he was so struck by her; he gave a soliloquy right there!”
“Pa, what is a soliloquy?” Opie asks, Andy answers, “Well son, it’s when you look way off and kind of talk to yourself! They used to do that a whole lot back then. If you do it today, somebody will take you away!” Opie smiles with complete understanding.
Andys good humor, taking time with his child to explain complex topics are the stuff of, well, Mayberry. But it could be your small town too, if and when you support your local small-town police, a thank you card for keeping the town safe while you sleep soundly at night would go along way.
The history of law enforcement is relatively new, in colonial times there were citizen night watchmen, before that, the kings’ soldiers. The first police department in the United States was established in New York City in 1844. But as much as the police protect us, we must protect them from the media that twists the truth and lawyers that seek to remove qualified immunity and treat them as criminals to enrich their own pockets. When no one wants to be a cop anymore, the standards get dropped resulting in thugs watching thugs. Even more terrifying is when local police are no more and state police are brought in, people who have no vested interest in your small community, who do not care about you. What does a police state look like, look no further than the NKVD, the police vehicle that drove Stalin’s purges. Its main purpose, “national security,” and they made sure everyone knew they were in town. People were arrested and sent to work camps for the most mundane things, individuals would report on their friends and neighbors for fear of the NKVD police coming for them if they did not report suspicious activity.
Thanks to God, we are not there, but we are always close and that is why local police are the best police. I fondly remember my time as a cop, yes, like any profession, there were good ones and bad ones. For me I will always fondly remember the good times, the town drunk the local check bouncer, the toothless meth addict; and when I saw them on the street later, they remembered and respected me because, like Andy, I cared. I can say that often when I did come across someone I had arrested or spoken with, that many had their personal lives turned around for the better. Not just because of me but because there was strong community behind them with plenty of resources, a balancing act, just enough social services, just enough of the local pastor telling them to straighten up and fly right, just enough law enforcement to tap them back in place when they got too far out of line. Be a cop, or if you’re too old encourage a young person because we need good people to be cops - if you’re in doubt, just watch an episode of Andy Griffith!
Watch an old Andy Griffith show and you will want to be a cop, the relationships he builds with the folks in small town USA are priceless, fun, and endearing. In this time of chaos when up is down and lie is truth, Andy is funny and relatable because deep at our human core, we know what true north is, what a wholesome relationship is, what it means to be an attentive parent, a good citizen, a God-fearing man and well read. Not with a gun, pepper spray or a taser but his tongue, he kept both the town and Barney out of trouble.
In one scene Andy explains to his son Opie about feuding families using Romeo and Juliet as an example:
“Now Opie, there was this boy and girl who were in love with each other just like Josh and Hannah, only their daddy’s didn’t get along either and what Romeo used to do in order to see Juliet is he would put on a disguise and go on over to her house and he was over there this night, standing by the punch bowl and having a good time! And he seen Juliet come down these high steps and he was so struck by her; he gave a soliloquy right there!”
“Pa, what is a soliloquy?” Opie asks, Andy answers, “Well son, it’s when you look way off and kind of talk to yourself! They used to do that a whole lot back then. If you do it today, somebody will take you away!” Opie smiles with complete understanding.
Andys good humor, taking time with his child to explain complex topics are the stuff of, well, Mayberry. But it could be your small town too, if and when you support your local small-town police, a thank you card for keeping the town safe while you sleep soundly at night would go along way.
The history of law enforcement is relatively new, in colonial times there were citizen night watchmen, before that, the kings’ soldiers. The first police department in the United States was established in New York City in 1844. But as much as the police protect us, we must protect them from the media that twists the truth and lawyers that seek to remove qualified immunity and treat them as criminals to enrich their own pockets. When no one wants to be a cop anymore, the standards get dropped resulting in thugs watching thugs. Even more terrifying is when local police are no more and state police are brought in, people who have no vested interest in your small community, who do not care about you. What does a police state look like, look no further than the NKVD, the police vehicle that drove Stalin’s purges. Its main purpose, “national security,” and they made sure everyone knew they were in town. People were arrested and sent to work camps for the most mundane things, individuals would report on their friends and neighbors for fear of the NKVD police coming for them if they did not report suspicious activity.
Thanks to God, we are not there, but we are always close and that is why local police are the best police. I fondly remember my time as a cop, yes, like any profession, there were good ones and bad ones. For me I will always fondly remember the good times, the town drunk the local check bouncer, the toothless meth addict; and when I saw them on the street later, they remembered and respected me because, like Andy, I cared. I can say that often when I did come across someone I had arrested or spoken with, that many had their personal lives turned around for the better. Not just because of me but because there was strong community behind them with plenty of resources, a balancing act, just enough social services, just enough of the local pastor telling them to straighten up and fly right, just enough law enforcement to tap them back in place when they got too far out of line. Be a cop, or if you’re too old encourage a young person because we need good people to be cops - if you’re in doubt, just watch an episode of Andy Griffith!