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Hey, vote now. It’s the American thing to do.  But only if you,re going to vote for Carlos Lee

Have we dishonored the honorable?

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lisold0706,0,814136,print.story

 

The above link is to a story of one of our serviceman who served faithfully in Iraq.  He came to his end, here back home, before his time, after a long, sad battle with issues arising from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Those who know me know that I’m not one for a lot of government programs but in the arena of our combat vets I have quite a different view.
These men and women have left the safety of our borders and put their lives on the line every day.  Many have been wounded.  They’ve seen their buddies get blown up.  They’ve seen things no human being should have to see.  They live in poor conditions for little pay . . all in the patriotic service to their country . . to “us”.

Some will want to hang this story around the current administration.  However, in my lifetime, I’ve never seen the VA characterized as a place of excellence.  I’m sure there are exceptions and I’m thankful we have something in place.  But, why, in a nation as great as ours, are we not giving these brave men and women our very best?  Have they not given us their very best?

In my mind, a combat veteran should never have to pay for healthcare again.  And the healthcare he/she gets should be the very best the world has to offer.  These people have paid their dues.  And we . . .you and me . . .are the receipients of thier sacrifice.

Army Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, may you rest in peace.  And to your family -  may God, in His mercy, give you grace and peace during your time of mourning.  And know that I am grateful for the sacrifice you have made and for the honorable service your son has given to his country.

America - God Shed His Grace on Thee - Happy 4th of July

Today we celebrate our Independence Day.

It’s a special day for many; just a day off for others; and just another day for still a few more.

In the morning I will get up and fly my American Flag.

We will likely grill some hotdogs, break out the chips and dip, and accomplish a little yard work.

I’ll spend some time reflecting on my life and give thanks to God for our men & women who are overseas, those not getting to sit in their back yards and enjoy a cold drink.  I’ll ask God to protect them, to give them courage, to help them be people of honor and integrity, and to bring them safely home to their loved ones.

I’ll reflect and wonder at how far we’ve come these 232 years.  Indeed, how far we’ve even come in my life time.  I’ll be thankful and proud of the great things we’ve accomplished and I’ll be sad and remorseful for the mistakes that we’ve made.  I’ll wonder with amazement at the great accomplishments of my parent’s generation, and I’ll be saddened, almost sickened, at the lazy, selfish people many of us have become.

I’ll long for the rugged independence embodied in the many movie characters of John Wayne.

I’ll miss the determined, bold leadership of Ronald Reagan.

And sometime this weekend I’ll pop in a DVD and watch The Patriot.  I’ll watch the character, Benjamin Martin, in utter agony and personal defeat, an emptied broken man, bury yet another one of his sons.  I’ll watch him prepare to walk away from all that this great nation has come to stand for.  And then I’ll watch him pull his son’s American Flag from its pouch.  I’ll ponder with him as he recalls his son’s dedication and commitment to “stay the course”.

And then I’ll watch him crest the hill on horseback, stars and stripes waving in the wind as he rejoins his men, setting aside his own grief, his own needs, his own pain, to stay the course, to fight for freedom, to give us a land of the free and a home of the brave.  And I’ll weep.  I’ll weep tears of pride for the brave men and women who have gone before me and I’ll weep tears of sorrow for the greatness we seem to be letting slip away as those with means seem to be ready to sell their soul to keep it and those without means seem to be ready to sell their soul to get ‘what’s coming to them.”

I’ll go to bed thankful for our past and prayerful for our future.

I’ll get up and go to work Monday morning.  I’ll be thankful for my job, my health, and my beautiful family.  I’ll be grateful to those in uniform out “on the line”.  And I’ll ask God to, once again, shed His grace on Thee.

Connecting the dots . . .

(Edit:  I first thought of doing each of these parts as a different post but I changed my mind and will do them as a single post.  Those of you who few my blog view email updates will need to check back periodically as I don’t think edits will trigger a new email.)

Part 1:

For love to exist in the world there must be choice.

I cannot be forced to love.  The very thing that makes love what it is, is “choice”.
If my wife asked my why I love her and my response was, “I was programmed from birth to love you.  Our parents arranged for us to be together and every night when I went to bed I put on head phones and listened to the words, ‘Angela is the only one for you.  There is no other.  All other girls are evil.  No other girls could ever be with you . . . ‘  So you see, Angela, that’s why you are the only one for me.  That’s why I love you”, she would not be real impressed.
But if I said, “I’ve been all across this land, I’ve visited many countries, I’ve dated many women from many cultures, there were several that could have been special to me, and several that felt the same in return, but I choose you.  I want you!  You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.  I will forsake all and choose to put you first.”  Now, that would probably get her attention.

Connecting the dots Part 1 - What makes love, “love”?  Love demands choice.  There is no love without choice.

Part 2 - What makes choice, “choice”?

What makes a choice a choice is consequences.  If there are no consequences it’s not really a choice.  Take the bigger piece of pie, I get longer enjoyment but I get more calories.  Take the drink in the back of the fridge and it may be a tad colder but it may also be a little older.  If there are no consequences there is no choice.  Consequences are what make a choice a choice.

So, no love without choice and no choice without consequences.

Part 3:  Consequences and Justice.

If there is Justice in the world how does the impact consequences?  Justice would dictate that the consequences are appropriate for the choice.  If someone steals a soda their consequences should not be to spend life in prison.  That would not be just.  The consequence does not fit the choice.  Likewise, if one is guilty of kidnapping and terrorizing a child their consequences should not be to be deprived of candy for a week.  That would not be just.  The consequence does not fit the choice.

So, no love in the world without choice.  No choice without consequences.  No justice unless the consequences are appropriate for the choice.

That’s the answer.  Does anybody know the question?

 

A Great Outlook on Life

My 7 year-old grandson visited a skating rink and went roller blading for the first time.  By all accounts he was skating with the grace of a new-born girraffe.
As he was flailing around totally out of control he apparently did a couple of 360’s before he came to rest on his little tush.
With great joy, he looked up at his mom and said, “Wow, it’s my first time and I’m already doing some cool tricks!”

Now, that is a young man who sees that the glass is half full.

jameson has a long road ahead of him.  His outlook on life will serve him well.  And, at least on this day, the student became the master.  His words reminded his Papa of how blessed we all our.

If it were up to me. . .

Sorry I’ve been away a while.  After my sister’s home-going I just lost interest for awhile.

With the general election starting to take form I’m starting to feel a little angst.  There’s just no one for me to vote for.

So, just for grins, I thought I would jot down a few thoughts of what I would try to accomplish “if it were up to me”

I would promote immigration while shutting down illegal immigration.

I would shrink the federal government and give power back to the states.

I would not mess with Roe - v- Wade but I would promote the idea of people really talking about the issue.  The question is about life, not about choice.  We all agree that I don’t have the choice (without suffering consequences) to drink and drive.  That would be endangering life.  Talking about choice is just a smoke-screen.  Talk about the real issue - Is it a life or not?

I would drill responsibly and build refineries.  Freak out all you want . . . we’re a ways off from effective, alternative fuel sources and this economy is not going to survive if gas keeps going up.

I would create major tax incentives for charitable work and charitable donations.  We need to be taking care of one another instead the government stealing our money to buy votes and set up give-aways that only make people more dependant.

I would finish the war with strength, honor, and power.  We must realize that there really are evil people in the world and they only understand one thing.  Power.  If we would have left the gloves off after the first phase of the war this would have been over long ago.  We have a choice:  Communicate to our enemies that we wish to live in peace but will repay them a thousand fold and bomb them back to the stone age if they mess with us; or we can build walls around or borders, hide from the world, and let the government continue to erode our freedoms in the name of security.

I would get the eggheads to tell me how my auto emmissions are melting the polar packs on Mars.  There may or may not be global warming.  But if there is, we’re aren’t causing it.  The sun is big and has a mind of it’s own.  The powers of the world need to quit looking for one more reason to try and control our lives.

I would mandate age appropriate education on the Constitution for every grade from 1st through 12th.

I’d promote citizen watchdog groups to help the media understand the difference between “news” and “editorials” when reporting current events.

I’d stand up to the judges and remind them that they are one of three branches and NOT the final word.  The PEOPLE are the final word!

I’d invade France.  Well . . .not really.  They do frustrate me though.  We’ve buried a lot of our brothers over there.  I know we did it because it was the right thing to do and not to obligate them.  But gosh, we’re getting a little tired of pulling the knife out of our back.

Term limits.  People need to go to Washington to serve . . .not to get rich.

HealthCare - that’s a tough one.  I know what we have needs a transfusion (Of course, sending all of the folks illegally in the country back home would ease a lot of the strain), but national health care just is not the answer.  There has to be some smart people out there that know a way to inject “choice” into health care and let market forces do it’s mojo.

A fair National Sales Tax - but only after there is a Constitutional Amendment to abolish the income tax.  No double dipping.

Okay, so it’s not up to me.  But c’mon, throw me a bone.  We can at least invade France.

 

Happy New Year

In review, it was a tough year for us and ours.  For me, the loss of a dear sister.  For my wife, the loss of a father.
But we are blessed.  Blessed in the assurance of the comfort and absolute victory of those who have left us behind and blessed with the strength to carry on with that confident expectation of seeing them again.

We look forward . . .and we grow.  As the diamond’s beauty comes from the intense pressures of the earth, the pure gold from the refiner’s fire, and the beautiful vase from the potter’s kiln, so our compassion and wisdom comes from the pains & sorrows of life.

And I am thankful.  I have a wonderful family, surplus to share,  the outdoors to enjoy, the ability to celebrate my freedom in every choice I make, a life with purpose and meaning, grandsons to spoil, and the neverending love of a beautiful woman.

May you and yours find peace as you reflect on the year that has passed, joy as you ponder the year that is to come, and the grace to walk humbly with the Master of it all.

That magic moment in Christmas

The magic moment of Christmas . . .that moment that gives each of us a glimpse of what we were meant to be.

The world has a system.  The Bible calls it “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.”  It very accurately describes our obsession as a culture with the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and fame.  Everyone who doesn’t have it is just another rat in the race trying to attain it.

And then Christmas happens.  Even now, with all of its commercialization and the recent onslaught against Christmas from the PC crowd, there is that period – for some a season and for others maybe just a single moment – that we put the world’s system aside and simply see the best in each other.

 

For you see, at its very core Christmas is about redemption.  It’s about God breaking into our physical reality as a baby in a manger and offering us a way back to Him.  And in that redemption the hope and the dignity of the human race is restored.

 

It is in the Christmas season that we see that hope and dignity in one another.  We see that there is more to us mere men and women than the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and fame.  We see our potential for doing good, for serving our fellow man, for loving each other as God loves us.  At Christmas we see, even if for a brief moment, the image of God within each of us and we choose to pursue “peace on earth” and “good will towards men.”

 

We Americans, the melting pot that we are, celebrate many different holidays and each one has its place and should be respected.  But today, on this day, I wish you more than just a Happy Holiday.  I celebrate that historical event and wish you and your family a very, Merry Christmas.

 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you:  you will find a baby wrapped in clothes, and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying,             “Glory to God in the highest.  Peace on earth and good will towards men”

On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves

This write-up was forwarded to me.  I don’t know who Dave Grossman is or what all he stands for but this illustration rings loud and clear with truth.
It’s a long read but well worth the time.
 

On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
By Dave Grossman

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there that will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”…

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier’s excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, which is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid’s school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.”

Until the wolf shows up! Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, “Let’s roll,” which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. — From sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

“Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?”

“There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.” - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize; especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust, or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, “I will never be caught without my gun in church.” I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy’s body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?”

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for “heads to roll” if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids’ school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?”

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn’t bring your gun, you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness, and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in “Fear Less,” his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: “…denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn’t so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling.”

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.

If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself… “Baa.”

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically, at your moment of truth.

The Therapeutics of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be good for the soul.

When we stop to give thanks it necessitates that we ponder what we are thankful for.  It causes us to remember, to reflect on the past.  And in the process we recall both the joyful times and the sorrowful times.  We grow grateful, and thus become thankful for the joyful times and we reflect back and realize that we survived the sorrowful times.  We grew in compassion through the expierences, we grew closer in community to those who shared the sorrow with us, we grow thankful for those with the gift of mercy and compassion who came along side us, and again, we begin to realize that we come through the other side of sorrow, past the healing, as better, more complete people.

Giving thanks is remembering, and remembering is reflecting on the faithfulness of our Creator.  His faithfulness to bring joy into our lives, His faithfulness to bring mecy and compassion . . to walk with us . . .in times of need.  And His faithfulness to bring us through yet another day.

Happy Thanksgiving.