I was born in 1950 in the United States of America. My father served in the United States Army during and before the second World War. He became a victim of that war. However he loved being an American. He became a disabled veteran fighting in World War 2.

Years ago I became a Deputy . I never realized how very serious my job was until my partner and I had to respond to a shooting one evening. Two individuals were struck by shotgun fire. It was our duty to bring the shooter into custody.

My partner and I had worked dangerous calls before, but there was something about this one that made me more concerned because what made the situation more sensitive was the presence of a little boy.

As it turned out I chose to walk to the shooter to carefully talk to him in order to prevent more violence. I did not want a child hurt in a shooting situation. The shooter was not only suicidal, he was heavily armed with additional rifles and shotguns in his home.

In the end after I spoke to the man, he handed me a 38 revolver. He had planned to take his own life. We took him into custody, but before we did I told him this. "Sir, you do not have to worry about anything. What ever you have to say in your defense will be heard by decent people who care about human rights and laws. No one is going to mistreat you or abuse you because your rights to my partner and I are just as important as the rights of anyone else.

I have to read you your Constitutional Rights to have legal council or to have a lawyer present anytime you so desire. You will be treated like a human being and you will not be judged by anyone in law enforcement because it is our duty only to serve and protect and enforce the laws of our great land for which you are a part of also."

I do not care if a man is accused of capital murder because he is and innocent man until a jury and a judge and a court room decide otherwise. This is the right way we do things here in America.

I thought about my job and what other people have to do in order to be worthy of being citizens. I believe there comes a time when situations demand some form of dedication to what is right and proper. We as men and women should be willing to risk our lives for our freedom and rights, and when we are called upon to perform duties for the sake of our laws and our justice in our land then we should have the ability to face up to challenges.

My father and many fathers fought against tyranny. Doctors and lawyers struggle for our health and our laws. Firefighters fight for our homes, and for our lives and for our property. The lists go on. Many kinds of people do many wonderful things as good citizens for our country.

From daylight until dawn every single day our country goes through a great process called government and freedom. Our country is like a large living organism with a very large heart beat that creates and produces stuff called rules and laws and amendments and rights so that we as a people can live in some form of security.

Whenever a man has to do a dangerous duty he is faced with two choices. He can either not do his duty so that another man has to do it for him, or he can do the duty.

I am not the kind of man that would want another man to take the risks I am meant to take. It is not fair for another man to have to pull my slack and still have to pull his own weight as well.

I am not the kind of man or ever will be the kind of man to walk away from a duty to defend the rights of other American citizens. I am not a man that believes money is better than people or that my conveniences are more important than my good neighbors.

The way I see it the Bible and God and our Bill of Rights and our Constitution and our obligations as United States Citizens will one day put us to tests. Those tests help to decide what we as ourselves are all about.

I was not getting paid most of the time as a volunteer, but a few hundred years ago men like Paul Revere and maybe a few handfuls of Americans decided they would either live or die for their country.

A lot of our bravest men and women never went to bat for us because of money, but because of freedom. A lot of wonderful people broke their backs with mules and simple farm tools to begin the struggles for industry.

My idea of being a decent American man might seem something like a stereo type but I believe in good manners, rules, regulations, laws, justice, bravery, courage, compassion, kindness, love, duty, kinship, beauty, nature, peace, work, rest, cleanliness, intelligence, productivity, education, knowledge, science, fine art, a good environment, health, security, values, dedication and a hell of a lot of other good things that have a lot to do with being a part of the greatest experiment in the world for human rights and the rights of nature.

I am not perfect and I never will be, but I will do whatever I have to do when it is my turn to do it. God Bless our beautiful country and God Bless you Too.