With all the concern about domestic terrorism I feel it is high time we revisit an age old principle of the citizen soldier. The everyday American who recognizes their basic purpose is to ensure the preservation of our freedoms.
Hell yah to adversity
I believe there is a divide right now, I see it growing more and more as our country is tested. Testing is not a bad thing, the Roman philosopher Seneca said, “for a man to know himself, he must be tested.” I suppose that could be shared with a nation, for our nation to truly know itself we must be tested. I would further opine we should welcome the struggles and hardships we face, for the more often we face them, the tougher we become. There is something to be said about adversity indeed, it forges us. There is another great passage from Proverbs 27:17, “iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. For us to truly reach our potential, we must be challenged by our fellow man and we must seek council with one another in order to better ourselves as a whole.
The best option
I bring this up because as I review some current thinkings about first responders, in particular threats directed against our children, I am disappointed more discussion has not occurred regarding arming our teachers. I read a list that included 15 ideas to deal with these types of events and it wasn’t until almost half way through that list did I see mention of arming school staff and teachers. When are we going to wake up and realize the best response may not come in the form of an organized uniformed response, the best response might be the one who is right there, right in the mix. Who’s only thought is to defend their children with their life if need be. We need to recognize this as a good thing, we need to start honoring the sacrifice these men and women are willing to make to protect our children. We need to help them, prepare for and God forbid deal with these cowardly acts.
Strength and Honor
In speaking with a good friend and fellow colleague we rejoiced in the similar increase of school staff and teachers who are willing to take up arms. They often times have to fight not just a would be terrorist, but a society that looks down on them as guardians. Sad is the day when our society would condemn them for what I believe to be as natural as taking in air; protecting life. I know I speak for many of my colleagues when I say damn them and their holier than though sentiments. They are the very same individual who would cower at the sight of aggression. We need to honor those who would stand their ground, we need to welcome them into the fold.
The Mailbox
I’m sick and tired of hearing folks comment how they are not properly trained, they wouldn’t know what to do, they aren’t prepared enough, some coming from within law enforcement itself. Many are seeking out training, cultivating the warrior mindset and learning the tools of the trade. It may not be a perfect solution, but I’ll bet when the crew of Apollo 13 looked at the “mailbox” adapter they had to construct to help scrub the accumulating CO2 they didn’t much care as long as it worked.
So, in other words get over it.
Minute Men -- citizens who were ready to defend their liberty at a moment's notice. Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. John F. Kennedy 35th President of the United States
