Amid the ongoing social crisis in Ferguson, Missouri and controversially harsh police response, national attention is being given to the increasing trend of militarized community police (in the past five years alone, $18 billion has gone to arm local PDs like crack military units, but without safety and responsibility training to match).

A piece from The New Yorker points out one implication of the growing trend: "Military gear may harm relations between police forces and citizens not only because they signal violence but because they may, in some sense, cause more violence. The same cues that signal "army" and "conflict" to civilians may affect police officers themselves. When they "dress up" for serious engagements, for example when donning SWAT gear to respond to a riot, they no longer feel like local law enforcement anymore but like part of a broader military machine."

Possible Preaching Angle:

Wait—so how we perceive ourselves affects how we carry ourselves? Seems like that has some spiritual implications …