First Lady Mikey Hoeven, United States Attorney Drew Wrigley, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Chaplain Dan Sweeney, and the families and friends of those we are here to honor and remember today.
Last week I was in Philadelphia attending a meeting of the chief justices. On Friday the City of Philadelphia buried one of its police officers who was shot in the line of duty. While I do not know all the details of the killing, it appeared to be a senseless attack by some young men with firearms. The television news was full of pictures of the sorrowing family, the stoic officers and the hundreds of citizens who came to honor the service and the memory of the officer they were burying. The grief of the family, friends and the city at large was evident. I immediately thought of today's ceremony back here in North Dakota and was grateful that we would not add the name of a newly slain officer to the memorial.
I am grateful we are not burying one of our peace officers today; but we do add Fargo Police Officer Frederick Alderman's name to the memorial. Officer Alderman was killed at age 25 in 1882, long before this memorial was established and probably long before such tragic events were recorded for history. It is fitting that we honor his memory even some 126 years later. But unless the level of violence in our society is greatly diminished, it can only be a matter of time before we will also be adding the name of an officer recently killed in the line of duty.
Officer safety comes in many forms. Our peace officers today are better trained and better equipped than ever before. While accidents can and will continue to happen, the educational efforts and the improved equipment have reduced the unintended deaths of our officers. However the dangerous situations encountered by our officers continue to increase. Some of them are perhaps inevitable. What is not inevitable, what we must never concede is inevitable, is the violence which besets our society. It is the increasing cycle of violence which most endangers our peace officers today.
Elementary, high school, college and university massacres, mass work place killings, violence in a courtroom, are becoming all too common. Even celebrations of victory in athletic endeavors turn into riots with destruction of property and sometimes lives. The danger for police officers called to a domestic disturbance is well documented even in North Dakota with its otherwise low crime rate. And notwithstanding that low crime rate, North Dakota cannot become complacent for even now stories of threats in our schools and colleges are an increasing phenomenon. Although many, if not most, appear to be idle threats some day, if the violence in our society is not addressed, North Dakota will also face one of these tragic and senseless events.
And what is the cause? I do not know but I expect that the culture of violence which seems to be sweeping our country, if not the entire world, must bear a large portion of the blame. When violence is all around us, it is too easy to turn to violence even in the most benign confrontations. Indeed, we increasingly use violence as a form of entertainment in our movies, television shows and our literature. It becomes a way to vent our frustrations. Is it any wonder we become oblivious to the violence around us? We cannot rationalize by saying we do not condone violence or that violence in our entertainment culture is not reality. There are too many irrational people who do not understand the difference. Our casual acceptance of violence as a form of entertainment or as a remedy for the perceived wrong of another, increasingly imperils those we expect to protect us. To deny that, it seems to me, is to deny reality.
And what are we to do? We have taken steps to curb if not halt the cycle of violence. For example, our Legislature has ordained that custody of a child may not be awarded to the parent who commits domestic violence. The reason is not to punish the parent for the domestic violence; rather it is an attempt to prevent the child from learning that violence is an appropriate response and thus break a cycle of violence. Although parents are the best models for their children, how effective is that remedy when the child sees violence in so many other forms?
I have suggested before in these talks that we have an obligation to our peace officers by taking care that we do not place ourselves in harms way. But passivity is not enough. Unless we are willing to address the causes of violence; unless we are willing to speak out against violence, in whatever form, whenever and wherever it becomes an accepted practice, in or out of our homes, whether or not it is directed at us, a stranger or simply is used as a form of entertainment, our officers will continue to be in danger and we will continue to mourn their deaths. We do best honor those whom we remember today by learning from their sacrifices and vowing that those officers who follow should be able to rely on our active efforts to help reduce the cycle of violence which so endangers their lives.
Thank you.
May 15, 2008