I Still Love America, and the Police Profession

An Editorial from Thomas J. Lemmer

Two hundred and forty-eight years have passed since the 4th of July in 1776. I love America. The principles on which this country was created still guide me. The courage of our founders and their commitment to those core principles still inspire me. They were flawed people, who were determined to secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and those who would come after them. The work of securing those liberties continues until this very day. Our nation’s military personnel defend our nation from threats abroad. America’s police officers secure those blessings within communities across this nation. Before this day ended, I just wanted to say again, there is much to love there.

The Doer of Deeds

My chosen profession has been policing. For more than four decades, I have sought to help build safer and stronger communities. I have been honored to have had the privilege of working in my father’s profession. I have always embraced the imagery of the peace officer, who seeks to defend the innocent from evil. President Theodore Roosevelt famously wrote about the reward that comes from challenges in the struggles of work worth doing. Here in his Address at the Sorbonne in Paris, France: “Citizenship in a Republic,” Roosevelt provides a key insight on how great things are accomplished.

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

A former commissioner of the New York Police Department, Roosevelt understood the challenges of policing, and the importance of doing the work consistent with our founding principles.

Why 1776?

From time to time, I am asked why I chose to name my small firm and my public safety site Secure 1776. The answer lies in the meaning of this day, American Independence Day. As a people we seek to live safely in our communities. Free from both the oppressions of tyranny and anarchy.

Photo by Thomas Lemmer (c) 2024

I continue to instruct all within the sound of my voice the following. Our nation’s founding principles are vividly captured within our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Public safety in our nation rests on a foundation of community support for the police and police adherence to principles of constitutional policing.

Prior Messages

As Americans, we are often frustrated by those leaders that seem to lack a commitment to their stated values and principles. We have grown weary of the politics of division, particularly division born out of momentary political advantage. We justifiably seek clarity and consistency. Twice before I have used this platform to write about Independence Day. Those messages continue to reflect my views, and my love for my country.

In 2022, I wrote: “For those concerned about justice, equality, liberty, and public safety, American Independence Day, should provide encouragement and renewed commitment to the principles on which the nation was founded.” As noted in that post, historian Victor Davis Hanson observed: “The United States steadily evolved to define Americans by their shared values, not by their superficial appearance.” For generations, America was described as a great melting pot of cultures, where new immigrant populations assimilated into the nation as a diverse, yet a distinctly unique, single American population. Commitment to America’s core principles is essential to peaceful and unified communities.

Our editorial last year was entitled, “Thank God for Independence Day.” Our rights and liberties are not granted by any government. The blessings of liberty are a gift from God. Cherish liberty and thank God for this day. Our founders understood this truth. Without question deep religious conviction was essential in the fight for American independence. Many of the leaders in the cause were men of faith. George Washington was among those who actively sought God’s grace.

As Ronald Reagan observed in January 1967: “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.”

A Firm Belief

At Secure 1776, we are grateful for all those who have served in our armed forces helping to establish the land of the free. We are also grateful to our nation’s law enforcement officers who safeguard our communities.

We still believe that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Thank you God, for the blessings of liberty.