Extend appreciation further

I want to thank Doug Clark for his column Sunday acknowledging “the thin blue line” of police officers as protectors of civil society. He admitted he would not have the courage to do this work. Neither would I. I am just sorry it takes the deaths of four innocent people to hear something positive.

It has been painful to read Clark’s columns ranting about our Spokane police as if the whole group shared the guilt of a few. It was also painful to read his diatribe against mental health hospital administrators. I have close friends in both groups. They are incredibly smart and dedicated public servants, concerned about doing right by us. When does that story appear?

News has historically focused on the exceptional because the norm is assumed. This usually means we hear the negative more than the positive. But the continued ranting about public officials, both by Mr. Clark and plenty of others, is getting way out of hand. Angry ranting that condemns groups as a whole, be they politicians or policemen, is eroding our common bond. It distorts the picture. It foments angry reaction that feeds on itself like cancer. All of us can do better.

Larry Winters

Cheney