By Stephen Owsinski:
Lately, President Donald Trump has appeared rather weary in several photographs published by a range of media sources. One particular image giving rise to this article depicts President Trump with our newest U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, standing in the Oval Office seconds after the President penned his signature below the Preventing Violence Against Federal, State, Tribal and Local Law Enforcement Officers executive order. This signing transpired moments after Sessions, America’s 84th Attorney General, was sworn-into the President’s cabinet on February 9th.
With respect, my attention was drawn to his tired-looking eyes as he propped-up the endorsed executive order on behalf of our nation’s law enforcement officers. My current thoughts are as they have been since January 20, 2017: he really does what he says he will do, and unwaveringly tackles agenda items with unparalleled vigor. How can anyone not respect that in any elected official? Notwithstanding divisions persisting between political parties and among citizens, our 45th constitutionalist is spearheading enormous change from the perspective of a man who has long viewed government as overreaching, needlessly gigantic, and significantly self-serving.
Thus far, all appointments, public acts, and executive orders have been administered on behalf of what is right for our nation, not for lobbyists or pals. Gotta respect a man for a can-do spirit, even in the face of ostensibly dispirited folks opposing his presidency!
Inauguration Kickoff
The day before officially warming the Oval Office chair, President Trump held a Law Enforcement Luncheon honoring the police community. If one of his very first gestures and actions as president is to exhibit a police-first protocol by breaking bread with cops, I’d say his words are authentic and his actions are indicative of positive change. Of his other campaign promises, President Trump appears to be holding the reigns and destined for a rather large peeling-back of layers which hampered police forces for several years now. Misguided criticism and chronic condemnation can now recede back in to the darkened closets from which they trampled. The lifeblood pumping back into the warrior mentality necessary to properly sculpt our nation’s destiny is rejuvenated. The people deserve better, and executive orders tile the guided pathway.
Immigration Laws
Speaking of people deserving better, the Trump Administration has authorized Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to commence locating illegal immigrants for deportation proceedings. Launched days ago, thousands have been placed in federal custody and processed for departure, exactly as President Trump stipulated throughout his campaign and after inauguration ceremonies were chronicled.
Even with a push-back from federal courts, the pages are nonetheless turning in his “Make America Great Again” playback. In that regard, various county sheriffs around the nation are seeking guidance, indicating how lax immigration enforcement has been for the last several years. What had become seemingly deeply rooted is now being tilled for transplantation on soil other than our own.
As a believer in We the People, cracking down on sanctuary cities and the derivatives of sanctuary campuses and sanctuary restaurants is a huge step in the right direction. I abhor misuse of hard-earned tax dollars to fund the whims of others’ agendas.
Weekend Sabbaticals
A mere few hours’ drive from me, on the other coast of Florida, is President Trump’s long-held weekend retreat. Mar-a-Lago is a spatial ocean-front mansion in Palm Beach County. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, our commander-in-chief can simply…be.
Also while looking over the Atlantic Ocean, President Trump can overlook The Atlantic whose publication perpetually jabs at his presidency, cabinet nominees and appointees. Reading elsewhere, I’ve gleaned how President Trump is always in motion, rarely settles, and is a well-oiled wheel in terms of getting things (our needs) accomplished. I am all in-favor of churning-out resolute distance as much as I am cognizant of the engine needing a well-deserved idling, a cooling-off period. As his cabinet fills-out and department heads are vetted and confirmed, perhaps he’ll let loose on the rudder so experts in the positions for which they were appointed can navigate some of the ever-swirling currents.
Realistically-speaking, our new president’s demeanor appears to be hands-on all…the…time. From a police perspective, he epitomizes the cops cop credo and disposition without being a law enforcer. In his own words while on the presidential campaign trail last year, President Trump spoke emphatically when he said “Police are the most mistreated people in this country.”
With half-baked stories of police encounters, boiling cops in a nasty cauldron was the norm. With little to no facts, police were condemned for doing police work as it had always been done. Behaviors of some of the citizenry transcended evolutionary to revolutionary. Seeds of discontent by the former administration coupled with media spreading fire where no flames were necessary recklessly torched logic, scorched principled thinking, and inflamed disrespect for our justice system. Personal agendas seemed as abundant as sand on the Sahara.
President Trump is no friend of the Black Lives Matter movement. With recent blatancy labeling Caucasian people as “genetic defects” and “sub-human” and “genetically deficient,” who can blame him or anyone for opposition to hatred-filled factions? Time and efforts can always be utilized constructively, such as drafting and enacting law enforcement protections.
Naturally, no one should be blind to the fact that our nation’s leader felt compelled to write and endorse such a specific executive order. The notion that an historical piece of political paper summons protection for our country’s protectors is huge. Consider that as not an ‘Aha!’ but more like an ‘Oh, gee’ moment. We are better. Now’s our chance to embrace and embody American goodness.
It is definitely a new day entailing fresh, crisp, blank pages authored by a man who doesn’t let ink pens dry out while drafting new volumes in the annals of America. Police forces all across our country can feel inoculated, respected, and boosted to perform duty as set forth by the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, this is huge.
Stephen Owsinski is a Senior OpsLens Contributor and retired law enforcement officer whose career included assignments in the Uniformed Patrol Division and Field Training Officer (FTO) unit. He is currently a researcher and writer.
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