Since 1962, the week during which May 15 falls has been known as Police Week (later changed to National Police Week). It is a week set aside to honor the brave men and women who patrol the streets in counties, cities, and towns all across America. Given the current climate of animosity toward police officers, perhaps National Police Week is more important now than ever before; The hatred, fear, and calumny that those officers face on a daily basis needs to be balanced with appreciation, support, and truth.
Those are among the reasons that the parent organization of The New American — The John Birch Society — has published a simple list of “5 Ways You Can Support Your Local Police.”
Those five items include:
1. Join or form a “Support Your Local Police and Keep Them Independent” (SYLP) committee.
2. Share our “Police Under Fire” Special Report.
3. Support the Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation (LECF).
4. Help stop the Strong Cities Network (SCN), the United Nation’s plan for global police.
5. Create a SYLP tabloid newspaper insert.
As the first item on that list shows, supporting local police is not a new campaign for The John Birch Society. In fact, the “Support Your Local Police” campaign has been part of JBS since the 1960’s, and has been instrumental both in fostering positive attitudes toward men and women in uniform and educating people about the dangers of a nationalized police force.
Since it is a basic truth that the people best equipped to deal with local problems are local people, the idea of turning over part or all of the policing power to unaccountable federal rule is a recipe for a nightmare. Conversely, the idea of keeping local police independent of political control (especially where Washington is concerned) allows local citizens the greatest opportunity to hold local police accountable. By forming a SYLP Committee, you can be sure to do your part to assure that local police have the local support they need.
The “Police Under Fire” special report issue of The New American was published in September 2015 at the height of the reign of terror of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and other anti-police groups, but the message of the articles contained in it are as relevent today as ever. That issue has articles addressing BLM, Antifa, the connection between George Soros and the growing hatred of independent police departments (and calls for them to be swept up under federal control), gun control, and the truth of the daily lives of real police officers.
The Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation (LECF) is an adjunct of the John Birch Society founded in 2016 with the mission of
Protecting the bond that exists between community and local law enforcement through education, programs, and briefings, while offering charitable support for families of police officers killed in the line of duty, and grants to law enforcement agencies for protective equipment, educational training, and memorials.
The Foundation has provided much-needed funds to local police departments to assure that those departments do not need to depend on federal monies for the programs they need for their officers. It also publishes an Intelligence Brief to make departments aware of the dangers they may be facing from both anti-police groups and politicians bent on federal control of local police.
The Strong Cities Network (SCN) is a globalist United Nations plan to take control of local police even further. SCN is — according to its own website — “the first ever global network of mayors, policymakers and practitioners united in building social cohesion and resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms” and “is made up of member cities in every major global region, each with specific lessons, practice or challenges surrounding violent extremism.” As bad as federal control would be, global control — under the auspices of the United Nations — would be far worse. Action to stop this evil plan is needed now, and the John Birch Society is helping Americans take that action.
Creating and placing a SYLP tabloid newspaper insert (similar to the one placed by the Georgia Support Your Local Police Committee) is a great way to promote the idea of how important it is to keep your local police independent.
Local police departments — made up of men and women who are your family, friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners — are an indispensable part of liberty. They are also in the line of fire — figuratively and literally. The Officer Down Memorial Page lists 43 officers as having died in the line of duty this year. That is an average of nearly one every eight days. National Police Week will not likely be an exception to that average. National Police Week 2019 has come and will soon be gone, but the support that patriotic Americans can show their local police by implementing these five easy steps can last throughout the year.
Image: kali9 via iStock / Getty Images Plus
