This is a shout out to all the first responders who heroically braved the recent hurricane in Florida.
I am very prejudiced toward cops, fireman, EMTs and the other services that risk their lives every day for you and me. Full disclosure here. My brother was a NYC cop as were my two cousins. This hits home quite deeply for me. I understand the sacrifice that these men and women make every day. Psychologists state that first responders face the same issues of trauma that a soldier in a war zone faces daily.
In North Miami Beach, the police received a frantic phone call for help during Hurricane Irma. A man called, at the height of the hurricane, to ask for help for his neighbor. A woman and her four month old baby were in danger of drowning from rising waters. Despite the fact, that first responders are told not to go out on a rescue when the winds are above 40 miles per hour and despite the fact that these people in danger refused to leave under a mandatory evacuation, these brave men and women got into a special military vehicle, braved the hurricane force winds and storm surge, broke down the door of the house, ran up the stairs and rescued the little baby and her mother.
Afterwards, these same heroes got back into the same vehicle during the same hurricane conditions and rescued two stab wound victims and got them to a triage center. They then returned to the scene of the crime and arrested the suspect during the hurricane.
That my friends, is what first responders do for you and me!
Let’s not make their job any harder. The Bible says, “All of you must obey those who rule over you”. (Romans 13.1) They are representing the government. Do what they ask. Some people decided not to obey the Florida’s governor mandatory evacuation order and rode out the storm. Even if they survived unhurt, they are making the job of the federal and state government more difficult by being present when these government officials are now trying to let everyone get back to their homes ASAP.
Look, I might think that I know more than the next guy. Most of us do. It is said of the people of the Florida Keys, that they are “very individualistic”. Most of us would like others to say the same thing about us. There is an adventurous sound to it. But in the times of a natural or man made disasters, we do not need individuals. We need people to pull together and who are willing to make a sacrifice for the greater good. We need to act like those first responders who as a team went out into harm’s way and rescued that beautiful little baby. Sometimes the greatest heroes are those people who quietly obey orders from authority.