I have a dream too

I have a dream. A police officer's dream. More than 200 years ago, our forefathers carved out a country of our own. With it, they penned a constitution, a document envied by the rest of the world ever since. Eventually, every state adopted its own constitution and criminal statutes. Every state's laws are very similar. Every state has laws against Murder, Theft, Robbery, Burglary, Assault, etc. Every state has certain punishments for crimes designed to be commensurate with the severity of the crime. Every state has jails and prisons to hold criminals. The system seems to be designed quite well. The police catch the bad guys. Juries decide whether they are guilty or not. Judges decide how long they are imprisoned, and at the end of their sentences, they are released.

But our system doesn't ever seem to work this seamlessly.

I have a dream that there is no such thing as "loopholes", that a persons guilt or innocence does not depend on his wealth or quality or his lawyer.

I have a dream that there is no such thing as a "technicality", that if the police, courts, defense attorney, or prosecutors make an honest mistake, it if just a mistake and does not entitle the bad guy to a free pass

I have a dream that there are no "pleas bargains", that if you "do the crime, you do the time."

I have a dream that prisons don't ever have to "make room" for new prisoners by releasing other prisoners before the end of their sentences.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that prisons weren't country clubs and bad guys were actually inconvenienced by going to prison.

I have a dream that no matter what craziness the day brings, each and every police officer goes home safely at the end of every shift. A dream that no wife, husband, father or mother has to find out that their loved one has become a "line of duty death."


Ah, but moreover, I have a dream that there was no such thing as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Shift Work Sleep Disorder.

I have a dream that there is no difference between the life expectancy of a police officer and that of a librarian.

I have a dream that anybody is actually reading this blog!

Anyway, enough dreaming. Stop back later in the week for some comic relief...