THE REAL ISIS THREAT

With all of the media attention about ISIS, ISIL, or just IS, sometimes I just have to turn away and tune some of it out. As a man who has spent his life trying to protect the people he cares about I have done many things to go out of my way to help. I joined the military because I wanted to be a part of the United States military, the greatest military in the world. I became a police officer because I enjoyed law enforcement.

Quite frankly, I was wrong to do some of these things the way I did. My initial motivation for joining the military was based on human weakness, childish dreams, and tendencies towards violence. What little boy hasn’t wanted to be violent without getting in trouble? As I went through the process of joining the military and law enforcement community, I realized that the organizations I was joining were far more than what I was looking for. I learned that more than just to be a war fighting machine, I wanted to help people. I wanted to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. I wanted to give everyone (yes, everyone) the rights that we take for granted in the United States; like freedom of speech and of the press, freedom of religion, and the freedom that allows us absolute control of our freedoms, the right to keep and bear arms. This is the right that so many people fear, because like Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Actually possibly Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Today we have learned in the agony of war that great power involves great responsibility.”, or by Francois-Marie Arouet “Voltaire” in Euvres de Voltaire, Volume 48, and even Luke 12:48, “To whom much has been given, much will be expected”). But I digress.

 I learned over the years, by gaining knowledge and maturity, that these jobs that I had taken on were not only the right choice for me, but were key to the person that I was born to become. My mother likes to say that I have a strong sense of justice and, like all good mothers, she is right. I have a deep desire within me to help the helpless, defend those who cannot defend themselves, and to uphold the values that I have worked so hard to live by. America has been asleep for too long and I am under no delusion that this measly little note will change that, but I hope beyond all hope that perhaps a few good men will read this and shudder.

 America has become lethargic, apathetic, and has left itself completely open to attack. The most brutal attacks are not the physical attacks that rip our worlds apart and tear towers to the ground. The most brutal attacks are mental and spiritual attacks. The ones that we as a whole have been ignoring for years. What many of us have missed is that by allowing atheism to creep into our society and take hold, we have allowed self-worth to degrade and fade. By allowing our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to believe that there is no god, we have allowed a weakness in our people. The truth is that there is a God and he created humans to be spiritually involved creatures. Argue that point all that you want, but there is a spot in your heart that needs that spiritual attention. If we leave this open spot, this wound, to fester in each other’s spirits/souls, it will only get worse and spread. People will find a way to fill this hole. Thus my main point.

Your sons and daughters are the real ISIS threat.

ISIS is offering something that feels tangible to fill that hole in people’s lives. It makes people feel like they are part of something bigger. If we do not teach our children about the value that their lives have, we are ignoring that hole in their lives and leaving them open to attack.

I had a dream that I interrupted an attack by complete mistake. I blundered blindly into the life of a young girl who I knew as a teenager and discovered by complete accident that she was getting ready to kill herself. The problem is that she was so hurt and so damaged that she didn't care who else got hurt in the process and cared more about making a statement about her death. I stopped the attack in my dream, without ever drawing attention to the fact that she was about to blow people up. I was not the hero in this dream, I was a bystander that almost died with the victim.

When I awoke I realized that this is the way America will die. Our children are so damaged and hurt at this point that many of them are turning to suicide with absolutely no hope. When they turn to suicide, extremists are there to stall them long enough to convince OUR children that there is nothing worth living for and that they can at least make those who they hate hurt by “making a statement” with their death. They become our own enemies because they have lost all hope. This is not an event that has played out. Yet. How long will it be before others are catching on to this idea? How long do you think it will take for evil men, smarter than I, to figure out how to use your broken loved ones against you? It is already in the works. When will you wake up and address the spiritual world that surrounds you?

The United States military has told its people that there are four areas of health: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. This giant organization has recognized that there is a spiritual need out there that needs to be addressed. This is one of the four areas they cover to try to prevent suicides. We are spiritual people. Quite denying it and patch the hole in your life, before someone lies to you and puts what they want in there. More importantly, fill that hole with something that has real value and that encourages life, and pass it to your children, family, and friends. Fill the aching, painful hole before it’s too late.

Grow up!

When I was kid, I remember giving my mom a hard time… a lot. I remember there were several times she would threaten to call my dad, and I never liked that. I never liked being in trouble with dad. Maybe it was because he was harder on me, or maybe it was because I didn't want to disappoint him. Whatever the reason, having to talk to dad on the phone always made me cry. I have to admit, it is much different being on the other end of that conversation. I don’t enjoy getting after my sons, but sometimes it can be entertaining. My oldest son always tries to hide when he knows he is in trouble, and he doesn't want to get on the phone, but when I can’t be there, it is nice to be able to see him, even if he is in trouble. I laughed after I hung up the phone today. He was upset because he wanted to play with a toy that my younger son was playing with. Such silly things upset us when we are children! However, as silly as these things seem, looking at some of the things that the adults I work around every day get upset about, it doesn't seem that adults are all that different. We can be just as childish sometimes. I enjoy being in the company of those individuals who have had real problems in their life and overcome them. They learned lessons from the experiences that they have had and learned what really matters in life. Perhaps we should all learn a lesson from the children in our lives and mature to a level of understanding comparable to our age. It is understandable to be upset about things that don’t go our way, but why would we act like children in these circumstances? If we are men (and women) then our childhood years are behind us. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. (1 Corinthians 13:11, NIV).