Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder.

Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.

I don’t know when School Resource Officers showed up in high schools, then middle schools. I do remember when my district’s SROs were given elementary schools to which they would pay random, unannounced visits. That was in the aftermath of Parkland, which took place in February 2018.

The role of the SRO is to enforce the law. In reality, the SRO has a wider role within the school. The best ones use their presence to be visible among the students and cultivate positive relationships. They work with the principal even though they have their own chain of command to answer to. They add another layer of safety when they are doing the job right.

SROs play a detrimental role when they do things like introduce themselves to the faculty by an email announcing that everyone is breaking the law in the way they make a left-hand turn into the parking lot with a citation of a non-existent city ordinance. Also, if they approach their job by sitting in their office all day.

As the law enforcement contact on property, they play a crucial role in determining when to arrest students and assessing threats.

However, because they possess a weapon of lethal force, they must be aware of when its use is necessary, how they would recognize those circumstances, and think ahead about how they would react. We assume that is a part of the rigorous training they undergo.

But what happens when they have to interact with other agencies? With the current administration authorizing ICE agents to go into schools, SROs have to be ready to say no and refuse cooperation if the agents are acting unlawfully.

A few short years ago, state legislatures were enacting laws to allow teachers to carry guns. For any teacher in one of those states who now carries, ponder the words of Timothy Snyder. Why are you armed? When would you draw your weapon? Under what circumstances would you fire your weapon and at whom?

Could you ever find yourself doing “irregular things?” Are you ready to say no?

Search deeply for the answers. There is no human deceit as great as that of self-deceit.