Month: July 2016

Recent video of a man with PVC pipe attacking people on Denver’s 16th Street Mall stunned me. The surprise wasn’t the attack. It was that not one person was willing to stop him from hurting others. Americans traditionally defend others. Something has changed.

I believe in life on other planets. The Creator clearly loves diversity, so I’m playing the odds.

I believe in motherhood, apple pie, and–okay, Honda. (Chevy ain’t what it used to be.)

I also believe strongly in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Note that I haven’t said I believe in guns. Guns are a tool. Like cars, they can be used for good or evil. But the real key to the Second Amendment is the will of the people to defend themselves and each other.

Ted Noyes, “Sensei Ted”, understood the right use of force. Inventor of his own martial art–Tsu Jido–meaning “Way of the Way” or “Way of the Street”, he led the Denver Chapter of the Guardian Angels and had over 1000 arrests without any being thrown out due to misconduct. He also valued gun rights. His mindset was never to cause trouble, but to stop it.

As ISIS and other Islamic Fundamentalists continue attacks on anyone who disagrees with their interpretation of Islam world-wide and as more disturbed people become violent, each individual must choose whether to fight or submit. Will you choose to allow slaughter or plan with others a response to save lives?

The odds of needing to do this are very low. But failing to acknowledge this possibility will cost lives. It’s like pretending a fire or tornado can’t strike. The aftermath becomes much worse.

A situation may call for any number of responses. We still need to defend the innocent. Learn what you need to do in a crisis before you are in one.

I see no evidence of the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and reserve judgment on Santa. But Islamic Terrorists are real. Disturbed people are real.

I will respond carefully, but I will not submit.

Instead of informing the American public of anything substantive, President Obama chose to blame and belittle others for their frustration that he will not use the phrase “radical Islam.” While it might not change U.S. military tactics, the term might acknowledge reality. Perhaps if President Obama’s efforts had been effective in reducing the appeal of radical Islam, if ISIS had been weakened, if thousands of innocent people had not been executed, he might be able to sustain his position.

His assumption seems to be that Americans will all be unthinking bigots unless he avoids naming the enemy. But the omission doesn’t build his identity as a peacemaker or as a lover of freedom. It makes me wonder whose side he is on.

Words matter. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t daily awaken wondering which words (if any) describing ethnicity are acceptable. We would still have mailmen instead of Letter Carriers. Person-person didn’t resonate. “Gay” would still have only one meaning. “Challenged” would not have replaced “handicapped” and “handicapped” , “retarded” and “retarded” would not have replaced “idiot.” “Pro-choice” would not have replaced “Pro-abortion.” “Pro-life” would not have replaced “Right to Life.”

One of the first things that precedes every holocaust is the casting of the targeted group as non-human. Vocabulary becomes a key part of it. Practitioners of abortion replace “baby” with “product of conception.” How very aseptic it sounds, how clean not to consider the human aspect of ending a helpless life. Anyone who has seen the aftermath of this “procedure” is likely to reconsider it. No wonder they use a specialized vocabulary.

So a refusal to use a functional vocabulary to distinguish between non-hostile Muslims and those horrifically murdering anyone who disagrees with them does matter. It may not impact our tactics, but may very well influence the opinion of those of us sheltered from the carnage.

We can call it Jihad, Islamic Extremism, War, or Murder. We could name it Teddy and hope it gets all fuzzy and cuddly. But until the American people decide to face this, the problem will continue to grow. Instead of sticking our heads in the sand, we’d better learn to protect each other.