Deadly Force

Sitting again in the Panera Bread (new bagel flavor, read the USA Today in order, even sat at a different table) enjoying my morning and at the next table sits a group of motorcycle cops (CHips.) They are enjoying their morning, sharing complaints, experiences, poking fun at absent coworkers, etc. etc. etc.

As I watched them assemble, they all carried their helmets in, and a small bag of some sort, and they all had the wide patent leather belt with flashlights, pistol clips, and guns. As I drank my coffee and ate my bagel, it occurred to me that this very select group of people carry on their person the ability to take another's life. They, unlike me, can at any moment exercise the power to employ "deadly force." I can't do that. Oh, I guess if I saw someone on a sidewalk and decided to aim my car at them I might get them (see Deer-slayer blog). But just sitting in a restaurant, drinking my coffee, I do not have the resources or the know-how to take another's life.

So here is my question. What is the chip, or restraint that keeps them from utilizing this power at their will? What is it that prevents them from simply seizing the power and exercising their own will? As they continued to visit, it became obvious that some didn't believe in God (why obey someone you can't even see?!? Actual question) They talked about comrades who were being unfaithful to wives and girlfriends, so the moral code did not encompass that portion of their restraint. I'm sure there are the usual misdeeds that we all fall into, the frustration with a convoluted and ineffective legal system, the cynicism about the good in people.

Does the Rule of Law hold that much sway? Doesn't it have to be deeper than that? How do you find people and train them to carry "deadly force" then not use it until there is no other option? What moral grid do you employ to ensure they don't unleash anarchy simply because they had a bad day, or their life seems out of control?

I will tell you this, nothing makes me more polite than a 9mm.

Godspeed.
Don