What's the difference between a police officer & a bank robber?

Ok so follow along with me because I have a feeling my big idealistic heart is just going to start rambling on about the way the world should be. But this is just in my head and i need to write it down.

The other night I was taking home a friend after a production and he begins to tell me that there was a robbery near the town I live in in Colorado. He told me two robbers, a man and a woman, were robbing the bank when the police showed up and shot both of them. Well I replied with "I hate that they feel they can just kill someone" and this boy very seriously looks at me and says "who would you rather have died, the police.. or a robber.." implying that the police officer responsible for the death is somehow a much more worthy human being to live. Hear me out on this one..

So what's the difference between a police officer and a bank robber. All we know about all three of them is one enforces the law and the other two broke the law. But aren't they all three human beings, and don't you think all three of them come from families and have friends. Do bank robbers not have needs or emotions, or are they just the trash of our society? I mean let's examine the officer.. all we know is that he saved the day at this event, but what does he do with the rest of his time? With the sick world we live in now he may be more of a hazard to our lives then they were.

The next day reports came out about this couple who was shot while robbing the bank. They were described as great contributors to our community, always giving back, always very warm and friendly. But some people came forward and said that they were loosing hope because of financial problems. So again, yes they did a not-so-note-worthy thing but they were desperate, struggling, hopeless. Have you ever been put in a situation of desperation, starvation, homelessness? That's what I want to turn to this boy and ask as I drop him off at his lovely home and I want him to think about as he falls asleep in his warm bed. I can't say I've ever faced those situations either but I've learned through my life its time we start looking at things through other's eyes.

So they were described as people who were always willing to lend a hand.. hmm.. I wonder if anyone ever lent them one? What if we got together in our communities, spoke with our neighbors, visited with friends or people who aren't friends and found out what people are struggling with in life and are in need of.. and we give it to them. Such an idealistic thought huh? NO! Come on people we are ALL HUMAN BEINGS. People deserve to live and to be happy no matter what they've done in their life or where they come from. If this couple was surrounded by a community who looked at the needs of others and gave selflessly their actions and ultimate death I guarantee would have never happened. Its just so frustrating for me to see people spending hundreds of dollars this time of year because tis the season for giving.. but the thought of giving a dollar to a Salvation worker outside the walmart is so repulsive because we're all struggling financially right? Man, we do not need all this crap we buy. If you want to buy clothes for your friends or family for Christmas then go through your closets and find things that are in good shape that you don't wear.. walk down town, and give it to someone or donate it to a homeless shelter. Or go out into your neighborhood, walk around, and talk to people. When you make attempts to connect with someone it can change everything for them, especially someone who is feeling lost and hopeless. Its not cliche its the honest truth!

I am just so sad for my friend who really thinks that people who are hungry, desperate, and hopeless deserve to die because they did something when they had nothing to loose. I still don't get the argument.. is the cop free from sin because he has a badge? please!

Voltaire once said, Human beings are created EQUAL. It is not birth.. but virtue that makes the difference. Are you following me? I guess to wrap this up I'm saying this.

Care for those who have no one to care for them. Look around your community and extend a hand of hope to those in need. Not just because its the Holiday season but because its our purpose and sole responsibility as humans. We've got to learn how to live in community, where we NEED everyone else in our lives actively to survive. And we need to stop building hierarchies amongst ourselves as if one of us is better then the other. Who decided that? Does a badge make you superior? No. Don't get me wrong I appreciate what police officers do and the risk they take with their job, but don't put them on a pedestal because underneath that uniform they are human too and they have made their own sets of mistakes.

I'll leave you with this. Tonight at theMILL a bunch of college students got together and decided they were going to buy a car for this guy who was in need of one. A bunch of broke college students scrapped up money and support and were able to buy this kid a car so he could get to work and keep his job. Isn't it odd that students who honestly don't have hundreds of dollars in petty cash laying around were able to buy a really nice newish car for this kid and they did it because they felt it was their responsibility to help him out.. did I mention this kid they bought the car for was a complete stranger to them until they actually gave him the car? So please pray for those in need who are struggling and are hopeless and then think of what you can do for those in your communities. And stop judging the lost, because I'm pretty sure you reading this now have committed a bunch of crimes and have been lost and hopeless in your life at least a 100 times. You're not an exception to the rule.