Hold Your Horses

The other day I stopped by one of the local establishments I frequent and over the years I have gotten to know the owners. They are aware of what I do so I get some great questions at times, but nothing like this one.

Lame duck on steroids

It is great to see adults able to carry a conversation in public even if it isn’t a popular subject. For instance, our current administration and specifically their ineptitude. I get this kind of question often and had to assure them it was ok, not to worry that I’m happy to answer. My response was pretty simple, we (as a country) got exactly what we paid for at the voting booths. The president is doing the best he can do, but is so unqualified his actions take on the appearance of incompetence. That is partially correct, but the fact of the matter is there was absolutely nothing in his voting history that would indicate a qualification to me.

Boots on the ground???

You really can’t blame the guy, a part of me wants to believe he is doing the best he can with the skills he has, but obviously that isn’t enough. What can you expect from someone with no experience and a cabinet filled with clones. So, with that being said we continued our discussions on topics ranging from troops being sent to foreign lands to fight diseases instead of protecting our borders and arming our teachers to protect our children. That last one is definitely something I can sink my teeth into and had I not had a schedule to keep I would have loved engaging more thoroughly on that subject.

First responder

First off, I am exhilarated we are seeing more schools and school districts recognize the easiest way to create a safer environment is to acknowledge there is no such thing as a “gun free” zone. I guarantee you, someone will have a gun and statistically it has been the bad guys. I read an article about how a large metropolitan mayor was complaining about a recent decision to arm teachers/employees that it puts the political interests ahead of the interest of the people along with it being dangerous. I love these open ended statements, so Mr. Mayor please explain your comments. How exactly is this dangerous? I am really looking forward to hearing you explain this, but more importantly back it up with facts. The reality is it is no more dangerous than driving your car to drop off your kids, in fact driving in your car is statistically more dangerous, but you don’t see anyone commenting about the calamities of driving our kids to school.

A word of caution

Now, with all that being said I want to direct my final comments to the school teachers and employees who volunteer to be the first line of defense against a mass murderer or a deadly attack. Thank you first off all, there is evidence to support an armed response to a cowardly attack can alter the outcome in a very positive manner. So, that is great, but I want to caution you on actually having to engage a bad guy in mortal combat. I can promise you it will be chaotic, fast moving and unpredictable. Your skills must be finely honed to best be prepared for whatever might come your way. The reason why we train is to take the conscious thought out of our actions, we no longer have to decide what to do, our actions become automatic. The benefit to this is the confidence in your skill, but truthfully the real benefit is being able to think clearly and act decisively. My sincere hope is more schools recognize the value in protecting our children, our future with something that is going to have better results than asking “pretty please don’t do that”.

More and more folks recognize the great responsibility and difficulty in protecting life. That responsibility will require more from you, more in the form of education, equipment and the most important one; mindset.

“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.” Col. Jeff Cooper (ret)