Addressing the Eroding Impact of Cynicism
Hey! How long have you served as a law enforcement officer? Has the job changed since you started? How has the job changed you?
Ask any veteran cop and they’ll tell you that law enforcement has changed since they began. Some of the changes have been in the law, the technology, the requirements, and public opinion. These and other changes have had an impact not only in the way you do your job, but chances are they have changed the way you view your job. Gone is the rookie enthusiasm and a cynicism has enveloped your attitude. The job has lost its luster. In fact, your enthusiasm has transformed into “I can’t wait until I retire!!!”
The Cynicism Spectrum
Regardless of how many years you have served on the force, you have been impacted by cynicism to some degree.
Take the cynicism test below:
Following is a metric that can be used to help determine where you might be on The Cynicism Spectrum (see illustration). Note the various shades of development and the color of the number. Obviously yellow and red are used to illustrate a growing danger as you change.
Everyone is Beautiful in Their Own Way – The Rookie: To find no element of distrust in individuals can be fatal. For example, there are no such thing as a routine traffic stop. It is when the officer becomes complacent or apathetic that life is imperiled, and devastating results may occur.
Developing Street Skills – A degree of cynicism is a must for street survival skills. There is, or should be, an inherent distrust of bad guys, and, as suggested by number 1, whether a traffic stop or response to a call, a degree of distrust should keep the officer diligent.
Developing a Jaded Attitude: Several bad experiences can develop a hardened outlook towards the public in general and a developing mentality of victimization results in wanting to blame others for personal attitudes, failures, and justification for inappropriate actions. Perhaps you’ve developed an entitlement attitude, viz., the department owes me this.
Developing Distrust begins to manifest towards management, supervisors and other officers resulting in divisions within the ranks, or between officers and their supervisors and administration.
Height of Cynicism, the Old Dog, distrust everyone and everything, lashes out in anger towards others, ridiculing with sarcasm and total disregard for the struggles other may be experiencing, the “Get over it; I Did!” syndrome.
Often cynicism is the result of a sense of betrayals, inconsistencies, imposition of the opinion of the public, media, and supervision, the lack of recognition and appreciation for a job well done, criticism when a job is well done, etc. Tired and frustrated you believe the whole world is against you and you perceive you are the victim of people and circumstance.
A degree of cynicism is necessary for street survival, but if cynicism develops into a perpetual state of anger and disdain, it can and will result in depression and left untreated develops into mental and physical health issues, while creating problems with management, supervisors, and other officers. If allowed to fester and poison your attitude, the results, as some may already know, can be devastating.
The word cynic is from the Greek meaning dog, or dog-like. Imagine you respond to the call, and you’re greeted by fierce Pit Bull or Chihuahua.[3] If the dog slinks off the porch with eyes trained on you with a constant growl as it walks sideways, chances are the dog doesn’t trust you. Chances are eventually you will become that Dog, a cynic, someone who has become hardened and probably trust very few people, or even no one. Don’t be that Dog! If you are that Dog, there is still hope!
The Pathway to Restoring the Passion
As a chaplain, my concern focuses upon the emotional and/or spiritual impact Police Culture can/will have on your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual welfare.
Hopefully I can provide information and insights that can bring emotional and/or spiritual healing, reconciliation and restoration. As a Christian, I look to the teachings of Jesus for the pathway to health and restoration damaged by cynicism, and that pathway begins with forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS
Forgiving those who have wronged us, abused us, betrayed us is not an easy path to take but it is the first step towards healing and restoration emotionally and improve relationships with family, other officers, and the public in general.
The Gospel of Luke (Chapter 17:1-10) addresses the need for forgiveness not as a good suggestion but the expected response of those who have decided to follow Jesus.
Addressing His disciples, He says offenses are inevitable, but rather than seeking revenge we should leave that to God. It is hard to turn the other cheek when people assail us verbally, but that’s the way Jesus wants us to respond (Matthew 5:39).
Further, Jesus teaches us that “if your brother sins” – lies, betrays, goes behind your back, shirks responsibility, etc., then it is proper to confront them but not with an attitude of getting them told, but hopefully they will recognize their error, accept any correction necessary (Matthew 7:1) and the situation can be reconciled, and relationships restored.
Forgiveness is not about making us feel good about ourselves, viz., “I did the right thing” and be done with it but seeks reconciliation and restoring relationships. That is why Jesus forgives us. He forgives us to pave the pathway to a relationship with God the Father. As the Apostle Paul instructs, we should be "bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." (Colossians 3:13)
Jesus also instructs His Disciples that should a “brother” sin against you and repents and asks forgiveness, then we are to forgive them even if they sin against you and asks for forgiveness seven times in one day.
Granted, this seems impossible, especially when the offender sees no reason to accept your rebuke and in contrition ask for forgiveness. Their response, however, is up to them and not up to us. Our recourse then is to pray for them and treat them no differently, even doing good for them.[4]
Forgiving Ourselves
Perhaps things are complicated because you can't forgive yourself, but if God has forgiven you, to not forgive yourself is to disagree with God's perspective. The Apostle John writes,
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. f we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. - 1 John 1:9–2:2 (NASB95)
Controlling What You Can Control
How often have you made an arrest only to hear the perp blame all their problems on others or their circumstances? They are victims of things they cannot control, viz., other people (including family), the work situation (unemployment), drugs or alcohol,[5] or any other person or thing. They perceive themselves as victims (victimization) and not responsible for their actions, or even as the comedian Flip Wilson used to say, “The devil made me do it!”
Have you ever blamed your circumstances and actions on things you can’t control? Control for an officer can be vital when they approach someone or something that is out of control. In fact, it is expected! Law Enforcement is seen as bringing order to chaos and the officer has already entertained the possible solutions prior to arrival. Hopefully the officer has learned de-escalation techniques, but if resisted, more forceful tools are available to gain control of the individual(s) or situation.
But what do you do with things you can’t control? Inherent with the job are things that the officer can’t control, yet they expend emotional energy including anger and worry. But don't fall into the "victimization mindset!" Some of the things law enforcement officers cannot control include:
Administration
Courts
Department Policy
Department Politics
Elected Officials
Recidivism
The Media and Public Opinion
You should work on effecting change but allowing your cynicism to fester will cloud your judgment and distort your perspective. Rather than spending all the emotion on things you can’t change and creating unnecessary stress and its consequences, you should direct your efforts and energy on things that you can control:
I’ve Got your back!
Hopefully, what I have shared is helpful and if what I shared is followed it can prove a pathway to healing and restoration emotionally and spiritually. I know it is hard to “let your guard down” when Police Culture expects you to be strong and show no emotional chinks in your armor, but you are human before you are a law enforcement officer.
I’ve got your back in prayer, and I’m available to you should you ever simply want to talk - call, text, meet for coffee. Chaplains have a code of confidentiality and I hold the code with fidelity and integrity.
Chaplain Mark
[1] As a chaplain I address the emotional and/or spiritual needs. [2] And you have ten years before you can retire! [3] I’ve been dog bit twice, once by a Springer Spaniel that didn’t even bark but snuck up on me and sunk its teeth into my leg calf, and the other time by a Chihuahua that grabbed me on my Archilles tendon (I was barefoot). [4] “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21. [5] There is a debate of whether drugs and alcohol lead to homelessness or does homelessness lead to both.