PEOPLE WITH AUTHORITY SHOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE

I have always been a firm believer that anyone who holds a position of authority has a responsibility to lead by example.

So you can imagine it was with great disappointment that yesterday I witnessed a member of the Maltese Police force riding a motor scooter whilst talking on his mobile phone. Yes non believers, this gentlemen of authority had only one hand on the handlebars, whilst riding at full speed. WTF?

I s**t you not. There are not many moments in life where I am left flabbergasted by the things I see. Especially considering the differentiating forms of human life that surround us. And the entertainment that said humans provide. But this time I was almost left speechless. Thankfully I have just the right amount of words left to write this piece. 🙂

Let me put the following in bold so maybe they will understand. AS AN POLICE MAN OR WOMAN YOUR RESPONSIBILITY WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAW IS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE. How are regular citizens supposed to respect the law if the people who are entrusted to enforce it do not? And how hypocritical must one be to issue a ticket for violating traffic laws when he or she is themselves guilty of breaking the same laws? Utterly f***ing disgraceful and it cannot be allowed.

There is another point I would like to bring to the attention of anyone bothered to read this. I don’t think that members of the Police force should be allowed to smoke in public whilst on duty. To me it just sends the wrong message.

I have seen it many times and there is just something about it that makes it not look right. Maybe I am being a bit harsh and militant here. But the feeling comes from experiences in my very own childhood. I would look up to the officers of the law and try and emulate them when possible because they were heroes. Keeping society safe. So again I revert back to the point of the responsibility to lead by example. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to take away their freedoms. They have every right to smoke should they wish to do so. But not in public whilst on duty and in uniform. For me it just sends the wrong message.

A perfect example of this can be seen in famous politicians, who you rarely see smoke in public. Let’s take Barack Obama. Commonly known as a smoker, but never seen smoking in public as he was rightfully advised it sends the wrong message. In a world where we probably all agree that smoking is bad for us, would we not like to see future generations, our children, do better?

I would like to end of this by bringing a little balance “to the force” (haha get it?) Being a Police officer is not an easy job. I am sure it is hard work, with a lot of responsibility. And I am pretty sure they are not paid at the same level of say a lawyer or doctor. So in general I would like to thank them for their service. But I also believe we should all be aiming higher in everything we do in life. As living our own lives, setting the proper example for our children is of equal, if not greater importance.