In the struggle to keep my wits about me amid the current political maelstrom, I am reminded of the old Saturday Night Live skit featuring Roseanne Roseannadanna (played by Gilda Radner) which she always concluded with the line:  “It’s always something.” 

Consider, for example, the recent confirmation hearings for top government leadership positions and the nominees who, as a whole, seemed to have fallen out of a clown car at the Barnum and Bailey Circus.  Whether it was refusing to call a traitor a traitor … denying past denunciation of vaccines … trying to explain away a promise to turn FBI Headquarters into a Museum of the Deep State … or dismissing widely reported sexual indiscretions and excessive drinking … one is left to wonder how, on earth, these people could have been nominated in the first place .  

It is as if we have all stepped “Through the Looking Glass” into an alternate reality where, in the words of Lewis Carroll, Alice finds her world reversed and turned upside down. .

Disheartening as those hearings may have been, they pale in comparison to the unforgivable mass pardons given to 1,500 individuals convicted of criminal offenses related to their actions at the US Capitol on January 6, 202l.  We recall, of course, the hollow assurances that consideration would be given to pardons only on a “case by case” basis, and that those who attacked and injured police officers would not be released but, as we now know, those weren’t promises … they were lies.

As a retired police officer I am not only deeply offended by these pardons … I am also fearful of what executive decisions of this sort portend for the future.  Consider the comments from one individual who was convicted of Seditious Conspiracy … upon his pardon and release, he said he wants the police to “feel the heat,” while demanding that the FBI agent who testified against him be investigated.  The question begging an answer, of course, is what sort of nightmarish society have we become?

Notably, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s largest police union, had endorsed the candidate who was elected president in November.  On Inauguration Day, though, support from the FOP and its membership carried no weight at all in the decision to issue pardons to 1,500 lawbreakers, including those who assaulted and injured law enforcement personnel.  In response, the FOP issued a tepid joint press release with the International Association of Chiefs of Police in which the two organizations declared themselves “deeply discouraged.”

Amidst the fallout from these misplaced pardons, it was refreshing to hear a powerful voice of reason raised by Pamela Hemphill from Boise, ID.  She had served 60 days in jail after her plea of “guilty” to a misdemeanor charge for her actions on January 6, yet, when offered a presidential pardon, she refused to accept it.  In explaining her decision, Hemphill said she pleaded guilty because she was guilty, and that to accept a pardon would have been a slap in the face to capitol police officers, the rule of law, and the nation.  Further, she said, it would have contributed to the false narrative that January 6, was nothing more than a peaceful protest.

Wow!  Accepting personal responsibility for one’s actions!  One can only wish that such a radical idea might catch on!

Though long since retired from active law enforcement, my bond with the men and women in policing remains strong.  That being said, I shudder when sovereign citizens, flat-earth proponents, and others resist cordial and customary law enforcement interactions, while recording those contacts in hopes of posting a police misstep on YouTube.  We should not be surprised if the recent release of convicted law breakers for political purposes reenergizes those with a mind to torment those upon whom we rely so heavily.   

Those fortunate enough to have been around during the 60’s and 70’s will recall that era as being characterized by vigorous conflict between law enforcement and an amorphous counter-culture group known, loosely, as “Hippies.”  Tensions were often high between those two bodies, leading to a catchy phrase popularized by the police:“Do you need help?  Call a hippie!”

With the recent unconscionable pardons demonstrating clear political disdain for law enforcement, police officers should be forgiven for resurrecting that phrase with only a slight modification: “Do you need help?  Call a politician!”