Higher standards are not double standards

At some point in a person’s life, a choice has to be made: What do I want to do with my life?
Some choose to graduate high school and go into a trade profession. Others decide a four, or six year degree is their best option.
But it’s at that point in their life that those individuals have to make an even bigger decision: If I go into this field of work, what standard am I held to?
Recently, a local teacher, a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Deputy, and a local physician were arrested (all for separate crimes). And yes, they are innocent until proven guilty.
But even with that mentality, the arrests beg the question: When should we allow bygones to be bygones?
Why is a teacher held to a higher standard than a gas station clerk?
That answer is simple: they work with and around children. Parents have every right to be wary when they read an arrest report on the front page of the newspaper about their child’s teacher. An educator who is around their students for 9 months out of the year.
Law enforcement officers have it even worse. They are the law. They can’t run around breaking it. Again, innocent until proven guilty.
Physicians: same story. They have patients, they have a reputation in the community.
So when people ask the media, “Why do you run stories on the front page about our teachers, our deputies and our doctors allegedly committing crimes”, a normal response would be: If a journalist, preacher, county official or celebrity did the same, would you not want the media to run a story about that?
There are some professions that just have that higher standard. A teacher, LEO, journalist and celebrity being just a handful of them. And when people accept those positions, they accept that they have to be on their best behavior because of the environment they work in. Working around children, working in depth with the public.
And while these people have the right to be tried in a court of law, just because they are arrested doesn’t mean they committed a crime. Accusations can be made and rocks can be thrown, but it’s up to a jury to find whether someone is innocent or guilty.
And in the same note, it’s important to mention that these members of our community have standards to live up to. So when a story breaks, grudges can’t be held.