The Stars
If you look at the media reports of the Oakland Police Department funeral for Mark Dunakin, John Hege, Erv Romans, and Dan Sakai you'll get a glimpse of the grief. From the replaying of speeches and eulogies, you'll get a summary of their life purpose. But what you'll miss, if you weren't in that arena, like I was with 19,000 plus police officers , is the meaning of the stars.
Sitting up on the second deck of a darkened amphitheatre full of men in women dressed mostly in dark blue you couldn't help but notice the twinkling of their stars. I've never really thought about why most police departments use the shape of a star as the symbol of authority. But as the agony of the speakers voices leaned over the arena, the stars would twinkle back. Light levels, for an instant would strengthen, and in that second it looked like the stars from the heavens had come to gather their four fallen comrades.
Most of our relationships with the police come after we decide we need to be someplace fast. The person behind the star almost always asks us "to slow down." In that moment , having lost a round of cop and mouse we don't think much of the star. Three people I've met in life, that I long admired, eventually put that star on their chest. Two worked with me at a summer camp, one was a naturalist who married a friend. Their motivations for serving all varied, but they all had some common characteristics. They were open minded, willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and they care deeply for their fellow human beings.
Most sacred of our covenants is: "Thou shalt not kill." We give police dominion over us to enforce that covenant. To protect them from those that would break all of our covenants, we give them the symbol of Heaven: the star. It's our way of reassuring them, that we will protect "them" above all others. It's our shield, our power, our magic, and it usually works.
Now, one of my three friends has fallen. His twinkle has gone out, our star didn't stop the bullet. --And last Friday, all of our other stars came to cry from the pain.
Today, they are back on the streets, renewing the covenant. But now, when I see those stars, I'm never going to look at them the same again.
Sitting up on the second deck of a darkened amphitheatre full of men in women dressed mostly in dark blue you couldn't help but notice the twinkling of their stars. I've never really thought about why most police departments use the shape of a star as the symbol of authority. But as the agony of the speakers voices leaned over the arena, the stars would twinkle back. Light levels, for an instant would strengthen, and in that second it looked like the stars from the heavens had come to gather their four fallen comrades.
Most of our relationships with the police come after we decide we need to be someplace fast. The person behind the star almost always asks us "to slow down." In that moment , having lost a round of cop and mouse we don't think much of the star. Three people I've met in life, that I long admired, eventually put that star on their chest. Two worked with me at a summer camp, one was a naturalist who married a friend. Their motivations for serving all varied, but they all had some common characteristics. They were open minded, willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and they care deeply for their fellow human beings.
Most sacred of our covenants is: "Thou shalt not kill." We give police dominion over us to enforce that covenant. To protect them from those that would break all of our covenants, we give them the symbol of Heaven: the star. It's our way of reassuring them, that we will protect "them" above all others. It's our shield, our power, our magic, and it usually works.
Now, one of my three friends has fallen. His twinkle has gone out, our star didn't stop the bullet. --And last Friday, all of our other stars came to cry from the pain.
Today, they are back on the streets, renewing the covenant. But now, when I see those stars, I'm never going to look at them the same again.
posted by Stan at 10:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home