Whatever happened to showing a little respect for those who provide needed services to us? In the last two weeks, I have seen both the chief of police and the fire chief verbally attacked either during or after a meeting. Did they do something wrong? Apparently, they did in the eyes of the people who had a problem with them. But for the most part, they were just trying to do their job. Sometimes, it is just a case of “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

We don’t have to like the rules. But we do have to understand there are consequences when we don’t follow them. I don’t always agree with everything these guys do either. On the other hand, sometimes they are just the messenger. The rules come down from the state and they don’t have a choice but to enforce them. Otherwise, they aren’t doing their job and that doesn’t benefit any of us. And although we might sometimes feel they shouldn’t be picking on us, we usually don’t have a problem with it when it is the other guy getting in trouble.

The important thing to remember here is what life would be like without police and fire protection, without EMS services. These guys provide a service for us on a daily basis. Otherwise, crime would run rampant in our little corner of the universe. Don’t think there isn’t any crime here because of the size of our community. There is even if we don’t always hear the details. A lot goes on behind the scenes that sometimes we never find out about. And it would be worse without the police being here.

We also want the fire department and ambulance available when it is our house on fire, or we are in an accident, or having a heart attack. Part of their job is to do fire inspections, and in the process they become the eyes and ears of the state. That doesn’t mean they want to close business down. It just means they want everything to be done correctly, so it is safe for all of us.

The police are paid and so are a couple of the fire guys, but most of the fire and EMS people are volunteers. They are our neighbors and they give of their time to make things safer and better for us. We should appreciate that.

Maybe instead of complaining when things don’t go the way we would like, we should ask a few questions in advance if we aren’t sure about something. That might save a lot of time on both ends and their doors are always open. Most importantly of all, maybe instead of complaining, we should say “thank you for your service.”