Into The Breach

The time to decide to take a stand is not in the heat of a crisis. It is not a decision made in the cauldron of conflict, the closing of the deal, the protection of your family. It is not made when you see a child being abused, when you find the bag of cash that isn’t yours, when you see an old lady being mugged, when you smell the smoke, see the flames, when you see the criminal’s weapon. The decision is made far, far earlier, in times of peace, in times of serenity, in times of safety and security. You process the scenarios, plan how to react, think about the options, even when you won’t have any. Perhaps especially when you won’t have any. The decision is made over and over and over again, until, when the time comes, there is not an instant of doubt. Then you will act without thinking. Because the choice has already been made a thousand times. Because even a single second of doubt may be a second more than you have.
I will deal with honesty.
I will keep my integrity.
I will behave with honor.
I will intervene.
I will protect.
I will defend the innocent from the guilty.
And I will die, or kill, for my kids.
No hesitation.
No remorse.

That's not to say I would take joy in the ending of a human life. It says that if the choice is my child or the perp, he/she put his/her self in that dangerous situation.

I'm a Dad.

You think a Mama grizzly's dangerous...

“On this fourth day of July, 1962, we who are gathered at this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of our States and Nation, declare now our vow to do our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all, to join other men and nations in preserving both peace and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all.” - John F. Kennedy

“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.” - Ronald Reagan

Charms to Soothe the Savage Breast

The creature rises slowly from its resting place, its ancient joints creaking, slow to respond, ignoring its own disheveled appearance. Its dull eyes might be murderous, might be piteous, might be nothing more than that its rudimentary intelligence lags its treasonous muscles, that simply rising from sleep takes all its force of will. Everything, from its own hunger, its need to get about its daily business, even its need to simply move from one place to another, everything is shunted aside, jagged, broken, scattered, unimportant, all moot if it cannot win through to its prey, mere yards away, perhaps 10, but it seems much longer, yes, much much longer in the beast's desperate pursuit. It has set its sights, and naught else matters.

But AFTER I've had my coffee...