“And as we get caught up in the mayhem of media coverage of their leadership, we need not forget that for the selected few at the top who are appointed to lead the way, there are thousands who take it upon themselves to accept the role, knowing the sacrifice.”
As 2017 entered its final hours, millions of people in the United States started to execute plans to celebrate, with places like New York City and Las Vegas among the hottest spots for large crowds. People will gather in even the coldest conditions to see balls drop and forget old acquaintances. The cheer and exuberance with which they receive 2018 is made possible thanks to the boundless hope that comes from a fresh start in the new year.
But it’s also made possible thanks to their vulnerabilities being protected due to the men and women who had sworn to do so. Men and women who walk among us as agents of the country’s preeminent law enforcement organization. And while their work is often under-appreciated as-is, they tend to get more press for the failures that are fewer and further between than their frequent successes you’ll never hear about; in this hyper-politicized era in which we live, it is even more so.
The blame for such a lack of recognition is not their fault. Nor is it yours. One can’t blame a populace for questioning the integrity of its personnel, as the ones you see the most frequently, or only ever, have embroiled the others in matters that politicize their work, creating unhealthy skepticism over their mission and ability to execute upon it.
The men and women of the Federal Bureau of Investigation go about their jobs so that you can go about your lives.
A healthy dose of scrutiny is warranted, mind you. It is expected. And it is necessary to ensure their successes are upheld. But in this day and age as the public and the media fixate on the missteps and potential lack of objectivity from the likes of Comey, or Mueller, or Strzok, there are thousands of boots on the ground keeping their heads down and hearts full of commitment to the mission at hand. The men and women of the Federal Bureau of Investigation go about their jobs so that you can go about your lives.
Controversy is nothing new to the Bureau. And perhaps the big one that has surrounded it in 2017 is the modern era’s version of the Hoover versus Kennedy battle of the 1960s. But the difference today is the bureau is more diverse in both its disposition of personnel and the mission with which it’s charged.
Today we rely more on them to prevent criminal acts from occurring than simply bringing those criminals who have already acted to justice. Domestically, they are the front line in the wars that stand to threaten our way of life the most. They fight terror and drugs or illicit business dealings.
In a country that is seemingly growing more divisive by the day, we need them functioning at their best to ensure that a rule of law is maintained—the kind that will ultimately allow us to exercise our differences with civility and in a productive manner.
So how do we ensure that trust is maintained? It’s a two-way street between the public’s trust and bureau morale. The better their morale, the more focused they can be on their job and the greater trust we have in them. But in periods as the one we are in now, their morale takes a hit with each attack. The desire to defend themselves threatens to put a chip in the shoulder. Yet, for those who pledged their oath and lives to the calling, we should be thankful that’s not a concern.
We need leaders of the organization who will do justice to this dedication and remember what they swear to—that an FBI special agent will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that they will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which they are entered.
That is their oath to the organization. And to us all. And as we get caught up in the mayhem of media coverage of their leadership, we need not forget that for the selected few at the top who are appointed to lead the way, there are thousands who take it upon themselves to accept the role, knowing the sacrifice.
And they are as much a part of the injustice and disservice that some of their leaders are committing as we are.
