Today is January 19th, and I have already attended three funerals this year. Hopefully, that rate will slow down soon. Today’s service was for fallen Arlington, TX police officer Craig Story. He was killed in the line of duty last Wednesday.  Hundreds of officers traveled from all over Texas to support his family and department. I accompanied our Honor Guard from the Granbury Police Dept. to today’s service.
All of the traditions of a police funeral were carried out today in Arlington. Honor Guards played a prominent role in the service. The bagpipes were played, a twenty-one gun salute was carried out, and of course Taps was trumpeted at the end. There were, of course, hundreds of patrol cars in the procession, which snarled traffic for miles on Highway 360 between Interstates 20 and 30.  I sensed that people did not seem to mind.
Several events stand out from the service today that are worth mentioning. I took note of an older man with two small children who stood on the side of the highway holding American Flags as we proceeded by them. It occurred to me that he was making a strong impression on those chilren regarding the ideal of respect.  I also saw a lot of people taking pictures of the procession with their cell phones.  I am not sure how I feel about that… I suppose a line of  police cars from dozens of of federal, state, and local agencies is not an everyday sight.  On the other side of the respect spectrum, I took note of a man in his 50s enjoying his afternoon jog on the sidewalk, as the funeral procession made its way down that street . He was having to maneuver around others who had stopped what they were doing, made their way to the sidwalk, and were holding their hands over their hearts.  I know I am seriously biased, but it seems to me that the jog could have been postponed for just a few moments.  Are we so self-consumed that we can’t take ten minutes out of our schedule to show respect for a man who gave his life while serving his fellow citizens?  I should not have been surprised.

Crisis events bring out the best and the worst in people.  We have, of course, seen that to be true in Haiti this past week.  There are so many noble medical professionals, military personnel, and others providing humanitarian aid.  They are giving it their all.  But there has also been looting, bickering, and other forms of meltdowns occurring.  When I took an ethics course in graduate school, one of the questions we wrestled with was:  Is man basically good or basically evil?  It is a legitimate question.  Based on my experiences today I could form good arguments for both sides. I think I will choose to dwell on the good.  I am grateful today for a lot of unselfish public servants who drove as long as 7 hours to come and support the family of a fallen officer.  May respect carry the day.