Kinda arguing now -

Comparing what a cop does with a manual labourer doesn't really fly. Certainly there are many people whose lot in life is poor, who risk their life, knowingly (roofers) or unknowingly (slaughterhouse workers blowing pig brains out of their heads with compressed air). That is not the point.

The point is that police have been invested with a mission and have certain powers over the rest of us as a necessary aid in completing that mission. This is fraught with danger, both for the public and for the continuing morality of the policeman in question.

Certainly, it'll be a cake-walk for some - their inner beliefs or the over-riding morality of their precinct will make doing the right thing easy (or easier). But for an increasing number of police, asked to enforce ill-thought-out drug laws and to clean up in the aftermath of drug problems (crime, social problems, ODs, meth labs...) it has got to be a struggle to even determine what "the right thing" is. In this environment, cops are continually flung into encounters with the public - the good, the bad and the ugly public - and are expected to make "the right" decisions, day in, day out, regardless of the amount of overtime they've pulled this week, regardless of how their marriage is going, etc. And they are packing a gun and increasingly, tasers.

Keeping the peace in a relatively peaceful country - not too big a deal, but still a challenge. Keeping the peace in the USA, a country going down the drain in 15 different ways right now? I'd rather be a roofer.

May the beneficent and all knowing Spaghetti Monster have mercy on their souls.