There are a group of people who have special training that most people do not have. Their professional lives are dedicated to helping the rest of society. To helping those that do not have that training so they can go on about their “normal” lives.
At their best, their actions will protect all members of society. It will not matter if the people they help support them. It will not matter if the people they help appreciate being saved. They might have to tell people what to do, but it is for the benefit of society.
These highly trained people have never really gotten the respect they deserve, and definitely don’t now. And that needs to stop.
I am not talking about the police here.
I am talking about people like these two:
SI Neg. 2002-1010.37a. Date: 1/14/2002. Dr. Anthony Fauci (M.D.), Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (National Institute of Health, NIH), speaking at the National Press Club about anthrax and small pox Credit: Jim Wallace (Smithsonian Institution)
They – along with all the women and men at government agencies with boring acronym names ( e.g. CDC, NIOSH, ODH, EPA, NIST) – protect us every day.
They, this thin grey line, protect us from toxins, contaminated food, viruses, dangerous workplaces, and even the global effects of our own polluting actions.
And they do so while understaffed, have their budgets cut (or threatened to be cut), and even have their homes protested for keeping us safe.
If there’s a “thin line” of people keeping our society safe, they wear labcoats.
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