Service held in high regard

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: June 28, 2008

A new Gallup poll about the mood of America contains some stunning results, such as:

We place our greatest confidence in the U.S. military.

The institution generating the least confidence? The U.S. Congress.

Seventy-one percent of respondents said they possess a “great deal” of confidence or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military.

Next in order: small business, with 60 percent high confidence; and the police, with 58 percent.

And the presidency, at 26 percent, scored more than twice as high as did Congress, at 12 percent.

Despite what some would say is an unpopular war in Iraq, the men and women who are part of the institution that prosecutes that war are held in high esteem — and rightly so.

Regardless of how they feel about the war, Americans seem to be able to put those feelings aside and extend due honor to the soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen and women who defend our security with their lives.

And regardless of how they feel about the presidency, they accord the office higher esteem than they extend to Congress. It cannot be overlooked that the current occupant of the presidency launched and is pursuing the war, while many in Congress have denigrated that effort and called for its end.

Since perception lags behind reality, the Gallup findings likely do not reflect new findings that the situation in Iraq is stabilizing, even improving. It is possible that in the near future, once these findings work their way into general understanding, confidence ratings could improve still further.

Meanwhile, this newspaper believes that the overseas actions of the military are keeping a dangerous enemy at bay. The military is at once working to help Iraq and Afghanistan establish and maintain viable democracies, and is taking the war against terrorism to the enemy, keeping him engaged on foreign soil so that he has less opportunity to invade our soil. Truly, this is a service worthy of high esteem.

It is noteworthy, too, that in third place in our confidence are our police. These are the men and women who protect us against crime and violence at home, and who also put their lives on the line for our safety. Police officers deserve every bit of the honor that we accord them.

With confidence in small business bracketed in the poll by confidence in the military and the police, protectors of our physical safety, we surmise that Americans see small business as part of a similar issue — an issue of economic security. The freedom to take an idea, develop it, market it and enjoy its benefits is one of the things our police and military personnel are seeking to protect for us. Entrepreneurship is at the heart of our free-market system, which in turn is integral to the ideals and functions of our democracy.

By contrast, big business drew a confidence rating of only 20 percent, third from the bottom. Big business has been tainted recently by scandals and scams, and public opinion is responding accordingly.

The poll results are tantalizingly filled with nuggets such as this that can be mined for fascinating comparisons and contrasts.

But clearly we Americans seek security in these volatile times, and we rightly value those who are protecting our nation, protecting our homes and families and protecting our economic stability.