| Recent events in Manhattan have caused many | | | | firearm every day, psychologically, this individual |
| Americans to rethink the necessity and the | | | | must be in the mental state to be able to fire |
| nature of the United States' emergency response | | | | their weapon. |
| teams. The truth of the matter is that without | | | | This type of heroism is not easily notable in |
| the quick thinking and highly trained members of | | | | newspapers and television reports. Because these |
| New York City's elite emergency response team, | | | | media sources are most interested in the |
| it is extremely likely that the passengers aboard | | | | sensational stories that will receive attention and |
| the commuter jet that landed in the Hudson Bay | | | | earn a profit for their company, it is too difficult |
| would not be as healthy and safe as they are | | | | for them to profile every service man or woman |
| today. | | | | who puts their own psychological well being on the |
| The first thing that must be said about this event | | | | line in order to serve their country. Instead, one |
| is that it truly speaks to the brave and heroic | | | | should recognize the fact that even outside of the |
| nature of the individuals who serve on these | | | | dramatic events such as the recent plane crash in |
| teams. While firemen, policemen, and military | | | | the Hudson Bay in New York City, or an |
| personnel are only given media attention every | | | | apartment fire next door, individuals on |
| once in a while (and more often than not, | | | | emergency response teams serve their country |
| negative media attention at that) the realities of | | | | and are heroes every day of the year. |
| their jobs are such that they are forced to deal | | | | The second thing that should be noted about this |
| with this type of life or death pressure situation | | | | event is that there has been relatively little |
| on a near daily basis. In the instance of the police | | | | attention paid to the fact that emergency |
| officer, one often thinks that the severity and | | | | response teams are still in dire need of service |
| seriousness of the position is related solely to the | | | | men and women to fill their ranks. A whole |
| number of times the officer is forced to fire his | | | | generation of Americans is coming to age in a |
| or her weapon. | | | | time when they feel without duty, without |
| This misconception can lead us to a telling | | | | obligation, and with little understanding of the |
| metaphor about the nature of emergency | | | | responsibility that they have to their community. |
| response teams in general. While the police officer | | | | While it is unfortunate that the individuals aboard |
| only fires his or her weapon only so many times | | | | the plane that went down in the Hudson Bay had |
| in their career (if they are safe and lucky, they | | | | to experience what is, doubtless, an extremely |
| will fire it no times) they must leave the police | | | | traumatic situation, we should use this event as |
| station every morning and every night with the | | | | an opportunity to acknowledge how necessary |
| knowledge that they have to be completely | | | | and essential are the emergency personnel that |
| prepared in the event that they should need to | | | | serve our country, and hopefully, spur a new |
| fire their weapon. This is to say that, while a | | | | generation to take the baton and continue moving |
| police officer may not actually discharge their | | | | forward in the safeguarding of our nation. |