I was proud to see that San Diego's firefighters got their raise last Tuesday.  As the son and sibling of people in law enforcement, it had disheartened me to see our local police and firefighters paid so little.

I can understand that we are in a budget crisis, but this is something we should never skimp on.  Where would we have been last fall during the fires, without dedicated firefighters risking their lives to protect us?  How many times have the nearly stretched thin police of San Diego helped to keep the city safe from criminal elements?  If you ask me, paying these noble people so little is the real crime in San Diego these days.

So, while it is not much of a raise, I am pleased to see that our firefighters received one, nonetheless. And finally, two weeks ago, the city council got off their collective butts and gave the police a MUCH need raise, to boot!

Now, I'm not insensitive to our current buget crisis.  In fact, I can respect the fact that the city is as poor as its current residents.  But it is shocking to me that San Diego emergency response personnel were some of the lowest paid in the country!  We are supposed to be America's greatest city!  The place everyone wants to live!  But, by treating those who risked their LIVES to keep us safe daily this poorly, we are more akin to "America's Greatest Shame."

For that matter, we all could be nicer to our uniformed protectors.  The next time sirens are blaring, PULL OVER AND LET THEM PASS!  Not only does it let them get to the emergency faster, but it is also the LAW in San Diego.  It infuriates me to see people refuse to pull over for ambulances, cop cars, and fire trucks when they are in emergency situations.  What kind of a selfish mind would do such a thing?

Moreover, next time you see a cop or a firefighter at a coffee house filing paperwork, just walk over and thank him or her for the job they do.  They have a hectic job, and a simple thank you for what they do would go a long way to brightening their day.

So, in conclusion, hooray for finally paying our emergency response personnel what they are WORTH, and we should all treat them better.  After all, if we abuse our emergency personel, they may not be there when we need them.  And that would be a thought too terrible to comprehend.

- Citizen Voices blogger Steven Garrett is a professional food blogger who lives in South San Diego.