• by shannon , April 1, 2008

As I waited to hear Hillary Clinton speak last week, in a high school gymnasium, I observed the other attendees to the beat of a campaign playlist. The music was blaring, to the point that it was easier to sit quietly and watch the people than to speak with the friend I was with.

Others attempted to pep up the crowd and seeing as how I am not one to partake in "the wave" and cheerleading shouts from the grandstands, I had plenty to relish as I people watched. From my seat in the top corner of the bleachers, I scanned the crowd. My gaze stopped as I watched the security guard that was standing in the walkway between the emergency exit and the bleachers. He was texting! How bizarre I thought.... I chuckled when I realized that he was probably not a Secret Service Agent, but he had me fooled otherwise.

The next day, I was running some errands. As I sat at the stoplight, I looked over my shoulder to a police car, the officer driving the car was texting! Granted, I know that I too text and drive at the same time. Such a dangerous indulgence...but that is about as risky as I get in the car. To further justify my actions, I do know how to text without looking at the buttons.. kind of like how I now type without looking at the keyboard.

However, shouldn't public service officers be an example? Police officers texting while on duty! In New York, you are not allowed to use your phone while driving. But here in the Midwest, standard use of the phone goes beyond the tweens and fast-paced business professional... it extends into those who serve and protect.

How aware are we as a people? How aware are our public service officers while on duty?