Mixed Up

WARNING! This might be a long one and might just be opinionated.

I try very hard to keep my personal life and my professional life separated.  My reasons for this are fairly simple.  One, it is the policy of my employer that I do not post pictures, videos, or comments related to the employer on my personal social media sites.  I personally agree with my employer on this one as you never know what somebody might post.  Two, there are many people in the legal community that would love to get their hands on the things that some of us post on our personal sites, and then use them against us.  And finally, my 1st amendment right to free speech protects me, as an individual citizen, not an employee.  As an employee, I represent the employer; not myself.  I think too often, people forget that we represent somebody.

You see, we, as Christians, represent somebody higher than us. It's our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  So today, I am going to exercise my right to free speech and represent the opportunities given me throughout my life by my Lord.

I'm sure there is not a person in our Country that has not heard, read, or watched the news regarding the tragedy in Newtown, CT.  Words cannot describe the sadness and overwhelming feeling every parent in the US has for their own children after hearing of this horrific act.  My intent here today is not to rekindle those feelings in you, rather it is a call to action.  Many people question how such a horrific act can happen and I think there will be many fingers pointing the blame at somebody of something.  A tee shirt I saw recently summed it up best by reading, "Dear God, why did you allow such a tragedy to happen at school? Sincerely, Concerned Citizen.  Dear Concerned Citizen, I am not allowed in school. Love, God"  Before I go any farther, a little history lesson.

Our Country was founded on many of the beliefs of our forefathers.  One of those core beliefs was that of independence.  Do you realize that, in plain language, independence is another word for rebellion?  Independence is defined as, "not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself:"  So we as Americans, do not like to be told what to do.  Just look around at how dysfunctional our Country has become and see for yourself.  The mindset of many Americans today is that I will do what I want, when I want, and where I want.  And, when I screw everything up, I will blame the government and then demand them to bail me out.  

Many Americans, do not like to adhere to the notion, "it could happen here" and when faced with more strict safety and security measures, we cry foul and blame somebody else or make accusations of constitutional violations.  In the wake of attempted commercial airline bombings, there was an immediate outcry, sensationalized by the media, to immediately cease and desist the, "unconstitutional" search of people boarding airplanes.  Oddly enough, some of the same people would cry that profiling is unconstitutional.  So if you cannot search people and you cannot profile, how then should you prevent terrorist acts?  Yet society continues to point the finger and blame events on anything that helps us escape discomfort.  This statement applies to so many concepts such as building homes in a flood plain, hurricane prone coastline, or on an earthquake fault.  The thought is, "In my 40 years, there has never been an earthquake in this area." or "What's the big deal? There hasn't been a major hurricane here since the 60's!"  Consequently, when our culture thinks of terrorism, the vast majority think of foreign, middle eastern males screaming some sort of gibberish just prior to attacking.  Unfortunately, that is simply a stereo-type.  The definition of terrorism is, according to the FBI, “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” and it does not stop with foreign terrorism.  It includes domestic terrorism (home grown) that is alive and well today.   Fortunately, our Country has been blessed in the lack of attacks when compared to other countries.  Israel, for example, lives with the constant fear of missile attacks, suicide bomber attacks, and car bombs just to name a few.  If you watched any of the news coverage from the recent conflict between Gaza and Israel, you would have seen the blast proof doors and windows at the drug store, people seeking cover under buildings and covered walkways, and more.  Terrorism is a way of life for many places in our world today.

It saddens me when things such as terrorism, gun control, and other emotional hotbeds become the center of politics.  In the recent presidential campaign, much of the debate was over the response to the attack on the US Consulate in Bin Ghazi.  The reality is that neither candidate really cared about the attack other than to increase their desire to point fingers and blame the other candidate.  And we see this everyday in federal, state, and local politics in some form or another.  The grandstanding by politicians that will follow in the days to come will be sickening.  The majority of our culture wants to blame somebody else for our problems.  After all, it couldn't possibly be our fault.  "We need to ban all guns!", "We need to spend more funds on rehabilitation.", and on and on.  At some point, we as a Country, are going to have to answer for our lack of responsibility in teaching the next generation how to have respect and concern for our brothers and sisters.  Instead, we are teaching the next generation to blame somebody else for our problems, to ignore what might happen so it will not happen here, and then require the government to bail us out when we do things we know better than doing.  It is not the government's responsibility to prepare you and your families for emergencies; it is ours!  My first priority is to my family then to my job and I would personally prefer that the government do their job to provide the core basic functions of government.

There are many institutions that choose to ignore the possibility of such a horrific event Newtown experienced out of political concerns.  "If we plan for an active shooter, then the parents will think that their kids aren't safe; we have to admit that it could happen here."  We can't require secure entry to our schools, because parents will get mad when it takes so long to get in."  "We can't arm our teachers because you don't want guns blazing in a school!"  So in the case of Newtown, you have a lone individual that committed potentially a series of illegal acts upon 600+ defenseless law abiding citizens with a total disregard of any laws or regulations.  Now, the outcry for more laws to prevent the next attack from somebody without regard for laws will be loud and clear and will be sensationalized by the media.  How do you regulate somebody who cares nothing for regulations?  You cannot.  There are many people in our culture that refuse to deal with such events, but there was a guy by the name of Louie Pasteur who is credited with the statement, "Chance favors only the prepared mind."  We MUST plan and prepare!  We must!  You can no longer say, "That will not happen here" as the population of Fairfield County CT (the county where Newtown resides) is just over 27,560 according to the 2010 census.  That is just about as small town as it gets.  What are you doing to plan and prepare?  Are you willing to accept safety and security over convenience?

My intent here is not a doomsday scenario or to scare you, rather it is to remind you to plan and prepare for emergencies of all types.  From installing a smoke detector (and changing batteries), to being mindful of your surroundings in a parking lot, to working with your schools to promote safer and more secure facilities.  Encourage your schools to make it more difficult to access the school and be glad when it takes you longer to get in to the school.  Be happy when you are asked to present your photo id when you arrive at a parent/teacher conference or when you pick up your children early.  Get to know your child's teacher and Principal and let them know you.  Visit your neighbors more often and learn who belongs and who does not.  Community groups are not a thing of the past rather they are a concept of protecting each other.  Do you know your local law enforcement?  Do you know where the local police department or Sheriff's Office is?  How about your local fire department?  Have you ever taken a CPR or first aid class?  These are all critical ways of thinking in an effort to become prepared.  If we will all take a small piece of responsibility and then teach our kids that same responsibility, I would not have to write such a blog as this.

If you have managed to read everything to this point, I want to say thank you.  Many of you who read my blog have dedicated your careers to protecting and serving total strangers.  To those of you that have read my blog and are now offended, tough.  These are tough times we live in and they will require tough decisions and sometimes offensive actions.  It offends me that there are people who refuse to prepare and instead of accepting the blame, and then point their finger at somebody else.  At some point, we as a culture are going to have to rise to the occasion, take the blame, and begin to make a change.  If you are offended by my comments above, let me put the icing on the cake for you.  If you want to see real change in our Country, spend more time on your knees in prayer.  Not to a shrine or statue, but to a real and living God.  The power of prayer is an amazing tool not to be underestimated or underused.  "Father, forgive me for not teaching responsibility to those around me."