Quote:
Originally Posted by PH/CIB
If we all get to the point that we only look out for ourselves, we as a People and a Nation are history.
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PH/CIB ~
Thank you for your service.
You're quite right; many of us who teach ordinary people how to defend themselves in an ordinary civilian environment have not served in the military, and do not have a military mindset. That's not a bad thing, because the military mindset does not translate well to civilian life and civilian laws.
Personally, I've never shot anyone and hope to God I never do. That's my mindset. It would be a terrible mindset for a soldier or Marine, but it's an excellent one for an ordinary person. While a warrior might be eager for a fight -- and should be! -- I'm not a warrior. I am a middle-aged woman with a bad back and people who depend on me. I am quite prepared to protect myself, my loved ones, and the people immediately around me. I have the skills to take down a criminal at any realistic handgun distance, and can perform those skills cold and on demand under every type of pressure where I've been able to test them. I'm confident in my skills, but I'm not eager for a fight. If a fight comes to me anyway, I will do
whatever it takes to protect myself and the people I love. To the extent that it does not interfere with protecting my loved ones, I will protect the people immediately around me. But I won't rush to the sound of the guns; that's not my job. It's yours, and I honor you for it.
As Goethe observed and I think you would agree, when each person "sweeps in front of his own door," and takes care of his or her own responsibilities, the whole world will be clean.
Reading your post, I think maybe you want to say that each of us should sweep in front of our neighbors' doors as well as our own. That's admirable for those who have been sworn to perform that service. But not all of us have. So we're saying that we'll sweep in front of our own doors. We'll protect ourselves, our loved ones, and the people immediately around us.
If everyone did, the world would be a better place.
pax
Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the whole world will be clean. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe