The etiquette of dealing with police

I've tried to teach my older boys not to let the man get them down, and to instill in them their First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights. I'm certain that any of my older sons, if stopped by a police officer who asked to search their vehicle, would tell the officer that he would be perfectly willing to wait while a search warrant was obtained. They would do this even if they had nothing to hide. Our view of the Bill of Rights tends toward the "Use Them or Lose Them'' side of things.


My sons also know that they are to be unfailingly polite to any officer of the law. This for two good reasons: 1. It's the right thing to do, and 2. You always need to be nice to the person with a gun and a stick.

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia was surely out of line last week when she poked or punched or pushed a Capitol police officer who tried to stop her at a checkpoint when she wasn't carrying proper identification. She's posturing now in offensive ways, forgetting even another lesson I've tried to teach my sons: Don't go around acting like a big shot.