Saturday, April 20, 2013

Pride and Prejudice -- Our Reality of the Week

This week has been another episode in the journey of Man into deeper depths of depravity.  As the world has watched the coverage of the terrible killings in Boston, many thoughts and emotions have raced through each of us in our global village as we watched the unfolding of events literally 24/7. We were all frustrated, as were the news folks, saying things to fill air space based on "evidence" from Bubba, Leroy and Mary Sue on 18th Street in Boston or Hill Street in where ever.  We were all glued to our TV, IPhone, computer for we, Americans, were angered and affected by the audacity of such an attempt to kill or maim our own.
 
You could read the white space meaning between the print in newspapers or blogs on in the mountain of "experts" to contribute to the networks this underlying desire to tie all of this to the same people that caused the 911 debacle.  The media, and most Americans I would assume, wanted the perpetrators to be linked to a terrorist cell so we could know, KNOW, who or what the boogy man was and where he lived so we could go get him or them.  All of that is very natural and very normal especially in the post 911 era.  I at times hurt from the children, thus a generation, born post 911, for their whole life will be tied to that anchor of hate and distrust of anyone or anything "foreign" or with Middle Eastern sounding names.
 
Through all of this angst, fear and worry, the silver lining, for me at least, was the police presence and professionalism played out on global television and news reporting. From the FBI agent in charge and his initial new conference to the one I saw of the Police Superintendent of Boston with the strange uniform hat last night, all I have witnessed in uniform or badge is absolutely professionalism.  Diligent, determined and focused but all the time professional in appearance, posture and demeanor; it all made me very proud once more of those that choose to run to the gunfire when others trample over others getting away from it.  Uniformes well fitted, weapons carried with fingers off triggers, backs up, marching in teams during the lock down, head gear perfectly seated on the heads; yes, I thought, that is our police force and I could not be more proud. Be they FBI, National Guard, local police, ATF, etc, etc; all I saw made me growingly proud of all those that choose to do this work.
 
We have seen trillions of our dollars flow to Iraq and Afghanistan to fund the building, training, arming and fielding a professional police force for the police role is very different than the military role.  We have seen failure after bloody failure in this venture to train up a standing police presence.  But then we witnessed a magnificent display of what true uniformed professionals look like and perform under the heat of the cameras.  I was never more proud!
 
In a way, I feel a sense of sadness for the two young men that created such havoc. I am not rushing to judgment in saying that for I have lived long enough to know that even this moment the whole story is not completed. There will be more and more feeders into this web of deceit, chaos and murder. I believe there will be copycat come out of the woodwork in seeing all the coverage of this; this is our world today. This is a world growingly separated from the Creator so what else should we expect, right?
 
So as the talking heads and contributors continue to feed into the cameras, let us be proud of the amazing infrastructure of our nation, our protectors both foreign and domestic, and to the honor of living in a nation that others wish to hate but long to come here as strange as that calculates but true.  I know many families are hurting badly at the losses including the family of these two young kids, now called bombers.  I believe our nation is better than this. I believe our nation needs to embrace the very teachings of our Holy Scriptures for the farther from them we pull, the more craziness of things we will witness such as this week in Boston, or Sandy Hook or Fort Hood, or ... where ever else is yet to come. But you can know there are people right now, today, plotting the next event to exact hate and prejudice on a People.
 
Today, I am proud to be an American all over again for our system of protection worked in its reaction process. The technology, weaponry, tactics worked but what really worked was a well trained, professional presence of police and law officers.  My challenge to you today:  find a policeman, fireman, peace officer and shake their hands to thank them.  I am sending this blog to my local news paper, The Canton Repository, in hopes they will print some of it as a voice of the People.  Yes, really proud to be an American! again!!

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