Dr. CJ, Racial divide is much like other issues we face in a fallen world, in that it will never be eradicated. With that said, I am still optimistic that we can decrease the amount of discontent toward first responders in our communities by matching the mission statements of the organizations with their actions. Or in simple terms, make the organizations more diverse which is in many cases responding to their needs. Clackamas fire (D1) states in its values: anticipate and respond to the needs of the community(clackamasfire.com, n.d., Mission Statement). Which, I do believe D1 does well. Can D1 improve? Yes! I don 't feel that any community can be diverse enough to adequately respond to the ever changing needs. Diversity is an area …show more content…
Right? Okay, I may be looking at the issue through rose colored glasses, but I hope its being talked about in fire houses all over the country. On the other hand lets face it. The real issue of discontent isn 't with firefighters, it 's with police officers! Why? I 'll tell you why. We are nothing more than a modern day Rome. The Colosseum has just taken a different shape and entered the living rooms of families everywhere through the media. I truly believe a real improvement could be made if there was integrity in reporting! Not that long ago, if you were witness to something deserving of a whistle being blown you would have said to yourself "if I could only find a reporter". Those days are long gone, take Brian Williams for example: Zero integrity! I know the issue is far deeper than just bias in the media or outright dishonesty in reporting. Although I think the Brian Williams example is an indication of a much larger systemic problem. One of the reasons I think the media plays such a grandiose role in discontent would be the fact that perception is everything. If people in diverse communities are continually bombarded by negative stories in the media it becomes reality. That is not to say law enforcement hasn 't had many failures or egregious inequity