Our nation’s law enforcement officers have what is possibly one of the most, of not the most thankless jobs in the country. For what amounts to very little pay, they literally put their lives on the line every day they put on the uniform and take to the streets.

Our society has lost respect for law and order. Pop culture feeds our youth a steady diet of rebellion against authority. Liberal politicians appreciate authority, but only when it’s in their hands and they’re allowed to use it to their advantage (which is usually to the disadvantage of the people).

Elections have consequences, and the consequence of electing an unrepentant, petulant Marxist, like Barack Obama, has resulted in a racial divide in this nation that hasn’t been seen in 50 years. He promised to transform this nation, and he did – for the worst.

Part of Obama’s revamping of the American way of life was to stir the pot of racial and class tensions, pitting white against black, rich against poor. Our police officers are caught in the middle.

Toss in a few incendiary incidents to go along with the tensions and you get Dallas.

From USAToday:

The deaths of four Dallas police officers and one Dallas transit officer from sniper fire during a protest in the city Thursday raised the national total of firearm deaths among police to 26. This compares with 18 at this point in time in 2015, said Nick Breul, director of research for the fund in Washington, D.C.

Breul said it was also the latest of 11 ambushes of police officers so far this year across the country, already outpacing the eight ambushes of law enforcement that occurred last year.

“That’s certainly a concern for us. It’s troubling and it’s something that we watch,” Breul, a former Washington, D.C., police officer, said about the shootings. “It’s really an assassination. You’re taking advantage of an officer and you’re ensuring that you’re able to kill them through them either being vulnerable or through a complete surprise attack.”

There have been some legitimate incidents of police officers being too quick to pull their guns. With the number of officers on the streets, it’s not out of the question to imagine that some bad eggs could have slipped through the cracks. Some may even be too high strung for the rigors of the job.

Then there are the very real threats that officers face and it becomes a case of their life versus the perpetrator’s.

The media is too quick to toss chum in the water, in order to watch the sharks go into a feeding frenzy, and if mayhem ensues, all the better.

Meanwhile, these officers have lives apart from the job. They have families they want to return to, just like anyone else who does a job. They have every right to defend their lives against those who harbor ill intent towards the badge.

Forty-one officers were killed with guns last year. The largest, annual number of police officers shot and killed nationally in the past ten years was 70, who were killed in 2007, according to the memorial fund website.

When you have tragedies like what happened in Dallas, as well as the threats of similar action against police officers that have emerged from all over the country, it’s naturally going to make officers on the street a little more nervous when they have to make a traffic stop or respond to a call.

There is a reason they’re shooting, and unlike what President Obama has tried to promote, it’s not racist police officers. It’s not a gun problem. It’s a problem with the culture.