In all the fluff of school safety debates I’ve read some disturbing things. Some parents, teachers, or faculty start talking about active shooter drills scaring kids or adults. My reaction to this is mixed.
My initial reaction is our family saying, “Suck it up cupcake!” Then I think about it a minute and realize not everyone is my family. I’ve spent my entire adult life working on military installations. I spent a decade in the military. I have several kids and half of them were born on a military base. They grew up with base-wide exercises being played. Not only that, my wife and I have been into preparedness our entire over 30 years of marriage. We’ve done family fire and bug-out drills. Also being a weapons instructor I taught my kids from the age of 8 how to handle and shoot guns safely. They know what gun shots sound like. We’ve also taught them other self-defense techniques and weapons most of their lives. We also talk to them clearly about scenarios and what to do in them. So they have had a different upbringing. I forget that.
We live in the United States of America. The strongest, safest country on the earth. We can walk most streets without worry about being bothered. But there are some individuals who want to change that. They want to do as they please or to disrupt this way of life with crime and terrorism. So because of these few, we must live a certain way. We must be prepared and vigilant.
Sometimes I’m not very nice. Sometimes I forget to be Christ-like. I have a problem with people who are scared by everything. I know that is an exaggeration. But I just think we need to have a little thicker skins if we’re going to live in this world. Understand that the whole world does not believe the way we believe and the whole world does not think the way we think. I do feel that, generally speaking, most humans are kind. We understand when we see a fellow human in distress because we’ve been there ourselves. There are many things to be aware of and to try to defend against. Learning the reality of that is not a bad thing, because I believe God wants us to defend ourselves against evil in every way. Spiritually, physically, and socially. To do this we must become more than a quivering ball of Jell-o hiding in a corner. One of the problems of the left, or liberal, thinker is that they generally, honestly want to change the world for the better. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. But it can make you care so much that you’re useless against evil. I believe reality dictates that we reserve the right to judge a little before accepting someone at face value. Usually you can see what a person intends within a few minutes, but until then, have a plan to kill them. This is the advice of retired General, and our Secretary of Defense James Mattis:
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
He did not say “Kill every person that you meet.” But have a plan… In other words, don’t open up and be vulnerable or show your vulnerability until you have a better idea if they can be trusted. This is where “progressives” miss the mark. In the process they teach their children the same. I’m not advocating scaring the living daylights out of your children, but help them to see that evil is out there, and you must defend against evil. If they have a small understanding of this, they won’t cry because of a loud noise. They will understand why active shooter drills are important. Just as fire drills are important. Fires can kill like an active shooter and are much more common. Yet we may not see a child upset by a fire drill. As adults we must educate, comfort, and prepare our children to be safe through whatever problem that may arise that may bring them harm. I’ve had people tell me that this kind of thinking is sad. Yes, it is sad. But it is the reality that we live in. I work on a federal installation. Security is high and only gets higher. Yet I understand the environment I am working in and that there are real threats to this nation. I’ve come to grips with this and know that we must be prepared and must safeguard this country. So I go along with the security protocols that accompany working on a federal installation. Kids should not be coddled. Being straight with them (maybe not blunt) is a truth they deserve. Shielding them is not the best if they can have some understanding. Most kids understand more than we give them credit for.
I am not saying don’t teach your children your beliefs. I am a conservative but not a Republican. And most of my kids have gone in that direction, but not all. The adults are influenced by what all of us are influenced by. They know how I feel, but they also know that I will not fight with them or cut them off from the family just because I may not agree with them. They have read and learned and made a choice for themselves. If you are a Democrat I may call you names. But in reality, I respect anyone who stands up for their convictions. I would also expect reciprocal treatment. You may call me names too because I won’t be offended and cower in the corner. But if you want your children to learn to give and be charitable, then please do so. If you want them to embrace progressive values then teach them. But whatever you do, don’t teach them to be a wimp. Kids are resilient and they can handle it. Do them, and yourself, a favor and teach them what they need to know to be safer than they are.
In the 1980’s there was a comic strip that was my favorite. It was Bloom County by Berkley Breathead. I love his humor with a political edge.
The star of the comic is Opus, a penguin. He is sitting at a bus stop with several people. One of them says to him, “Ya know…you penguin types offend me.” Then another guy reading a newspaper says, “Hey…I’ll tell ya what offends me…dirty words, that’s what.” The next panels have others telling each other what offends them. Then they all say at once, “My gosh…LIFE is offensive!!” and all run off screaming. The last panel has Opus looking at you and saying, “Offensensitivity.” This is a humorous way of saying all of us can be overly sensitive and offended. One of my favorite quotes applies to offensensitivity. It’s from Elenor Roosevelt and she said, “No one can offend you without your permission.”
There are some that live day to day being offended. Their view seems to be that everyone is out to offend them and so they are offended. Don’t be that sensitive. Don’t think that every statement made is about race. I’ve gotten to the point where when I talk to liberals I can be assured of being labeled a “racist”. I’ve finally decided that I will just tell them, “I am whatever you think I am.” I won’t be able to change their minds so I just “Embrace the suck.” I learn to live with the label. I will continue to believe as I do and I will try my best to be Christ-like. If that is perceived to be a racist or a homo-phobe or xenophobe so be it. You will probably not change my mind in a minute as I won’t change yours. So I say, I won’t be offended or defensive. I will do my best to not call you a yellow commie weenie. To be honest, I wish somebody would just tell me what they feel and not be so darn politically correct.
Having honest discourse would be a refreshing thing. I have an old missionary companion who seems to be quite liberal. I say he seems to be because my only real exposure to him is Facebook. I know Facebook is not always reality. But because I don’t want to damage what relationship we do have I have to hide his posts. I’ve tried to have some real conversation and dialogue but it’s Facebook. Internet arguments are a waste of time. But some real debate would be good.
The problem with being a snowflake is that they’re too delicate. If it were me and I were left leaning and someone called me a snowflake, I would just smile and show them I am not delicate. Being offended distracts from my point. It moves us away from my beliefs. I won’t let it so I am not offended. Can’t we all just get along? No, I believe we can be civil, but we don’t have to “get along”.
The whole point of this long rant is that I would hope that we can get away from this idea of not being tough. I said tough, not rude and idiotic. We should teach our kids that being prepared for this world and life is not being afraid. And can we stop having offensensitivity?
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
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