The myth of safety, anywhere, anytime
He lays on the roof and waits. He picked this spot days ago as he jogged his morning exercise route. There was no violence in this area, so no one was looking for him. No one saw him apart from the fitness throng; no reason to. Now his sweatsuit insulates him against the chill of the tarpaper as he raises the rifle to his shoulder, and resists squinting through the site as it moves from child to child on the playground.
This isn’t Washington, or Virginia. It’s where you live. And this isn’t yesterday, or tomorrow, but 20 years ago, or 10 years from now.
It’s anyplace, anytime that a single person decides to cross the line of civility.
It’s not about guns on the street, or plans for nukes on the Internet.
There will always be rocks, and hands, and harsh tongues.
It’s not about metal detectors, or better locks, or cameras on the corner.
There is no security measure created that can’t be circumvented, or turned against the protected.
It’s not about stronger laws, or more laws.
We don’t enforce the laws that we have, but even if we did, it would still happen.
Why?
The world did not change on 9-11, and there is nothing new in a sniper in D.C. The world did not change. Your safety did not change. What changed was your perception of reality. Your perception of safety.
Why?
The reality is this: every second of every minute of every day you are alive, you may be hurt or killed. You may be the victim of an accident or deliberate intent, but if you are dead, is there really a difference? The motive doesn’t change the result. Doesn’t change the reality.
Every time you pull through an intersection, you risk being fatally broadsided by another vehicle. Every time you eat in a restaurant, you risk injesting food to which you have just developed a fatal allergy. Every time you shout in anger at someone, you risk pushing that person across that line where they take a handgun or a claw hammer or a drain cleaner and end your life.
Why?
The simple fact is this: the world is full of risk, and every form of harm imaginable could happen at any given moment, and you could be caught up in its destruction. You could be its instigator.
Why?
We build machines. We build them safer, then we build them faster, or stronger, or higher. And then someone gets hurt, so we build them safer. And then someone says “we have room, here. We have a margin.” So we build them again faster, stronger, higher.
Life is about growth. Growth is about pushing limits of potential. If you live, you grow. If you grow, you risk. If you don’t risk, you don’t grow, and you die. That’s in our DNA. That’s the basis of life in our world. On all worlds.
Sometimes, the growth results in pain, and sometimes the risk results in injury. You either learn from it and adapt and heal and grow. Or you die. That’s biology. That’s sociology. That’s economics. That’s engineering. That’s life.
Why?
Machines fail. Plants wither and fade. People make mistakes. As much as these things are true – always true – we can learn from it, we can improve it. The essential question is how you respond to pain. To injury. To loss. To risk. To life. How do you grow?
Why?
Because People – and not just society, or other nations, or those organizations, or that group over there, or him or her, but YOU – make choices. You decide what to eat for breakfast. You decide if you will listen to what you hear on the news. You decide what you will accept as true in your world. You decide how you will respond to pain.
You decide how you will respond to injury.
You decide how you will respond to loss.
You decide how you will respond to risk.
You decide how you will respond to life.
Why?
Because you, and you alone decide how you will respond to truth.
Why?
The simple truth that is being actively hidden from your eyes is this: there is Good and there is Evil. God is Good. He is selfless. He gives life. He deals in truth. Every time you make a choice for truth – Every time you make a choice for another person’s gain over your own interests – Every time you choose to make the effort to smile when your day has been filled with frustration – you choose good. You choose God. You choose LIFE!
Why?
Because you, and you alone decide how you will respond to truth.
Why?
The simple truth that you actively choose to hide from your eyes is this: there is Good and there is Evil. And that Evil has a name. He is selfishness. He is pride. He deals in deception and fear. Every time you make a choice to ignore the truth about the consequences of your actions – Every time you choose to budge your way ahead of the other person – Every time you chose to do something which must be secret – Every time you chose to say “this doesn’t hurt anyone” or “Its about me” or “No one needs to know” – Every time you choose to believe that there is no such thing as good and evil – you choose Evil. You choose deception. You choose pain. You choose Death.
Why?
Because you, and you alone decide how you will respond to truth.
(cont’d)