I have always had my own response to that, however I have read an article by Paul Harvey that has touched me.

It is a reading that has meaning and I know it to be true called:

What is a law enforcement office made of?

There are a least 420,000 of them: Law Enforcement Officers.

An officer is a composite of what all men and women are, some saint and sinner, dust and deity.

Wave the fan over the stinkers, underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are new. What they really mean is that they are exceptional, unusual, not common place.

Buried under the frost is the fact: less than one-half of one percent of officers misfit the uniform. That's a better average than you'd find among the clergy.

What is an officer made of? He, of all men and women, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He's a strangely nameless creature who is "Sir" to his face and "Po-Po" to his back.

He must be such a diplomat that he can settle the differences between individuals so that each will think he won.

But if the officer is neat, he's conceited; if he's careless, he's a bum. If he's pleasant, he's flirting; if not, he's a grouch.

He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make.

But if he hurries, he's careless; if he's deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start someone breathing, stop bleeding, tie splits and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued.

The officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn't hurt.

He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. If you hit him, he's a coward. If he hits you, he's a bully.

An officer must know everything-and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.

An officer must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal and tell you where the criminal is hiding.

But if he catches the criminal, he's lucky; if he doesn't, he's dumb.

If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't he's a slacker.

The officer must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stakeout 10 nights to tag one witness who saw it happen but refused to remember.

The officer must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.

And, of course, he'd have to be a genius. for he will have to feed a family on an officer's salary.

Let me close with this: I stand proudly with our law enforcement in the Roanoke Valley.

Shoulder to shoulder, we are the thin blue line. None of us are above the law.

We remember those brothers and sisters who have paid the extreme sacrifice, their lives for our safety. We are all here to do God's work.