Train the Warrior Culture

Most people I know have heard the story of the Spartans and how they held off an immensely larger army of Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae.  Those same folks, who know of this battle, proclaim the great strength and commitment of the Spartans; they comment favorably on the warrior culture that created such men… and then they turn around (some of them) and argue whether or not we need such men in today’s world.  In fact, some of those folks who admire the Spartans turn around and claim that the warrior culture should be left to die off; they claim that pacifism is the only solution to today’s problems; they claim that embracing your enemy will resolve all issues.

I’m sorry I’m not sorry but I have GOT to throw the BS flag.  Reality is that until such a day comes where 100% of humanity is peaceful and non-violent, there will always have to be warriors for good; those who face the evil which uses violence as a means to an end.  And since we have no reasonable expectation of mankind EVER being violence-free, warriors for good will always be necessary; warriors for good will always be needed; warriors for good should always be appreciated and encouraged to continue in their efforts.

In contemporary America there are (essentially) three groups of warriors, even though their day to day lives may not require warrior behavior of them:

• There are the military professionals in every branch of service.
• There are the law enforcement professionals in every state, county and municipality.
• There are the average every day citizens who refuse to be victims and have embraced the warrior mentality / outlook.

In a world where mass attack events have regularly occurred for well over a decade now, it behooves us as a whole to appreciate and embrace those who “stand in the gap.”  Some years back I started a consulting company and the catch phrase was “on the front lines at home.”  At the time, the only real war people saw being committed against us here at home (by a terrorist group of foreign nature) was the attacks on September 11^th, 2001.  Now we’ve seen mass attacks committed by the same or similar terrorist groups in cities all around the world including San Bernardino, CA.  The reality, whether we like to look at it head on or not, is that the same kind of attack can happen in virtually any city in the United States, no matter the size or region.

In the past, as I’ve made presentations about training and protocols for mass attack response, I’ve heard many an elected representative say, “It can’t happen here.”  For them I have two responses:

• First, your imagination is broken. It CAN happen anywhere and denial is irresponsible.
• Second, if ANY part of your job involves protecting the public safety AND you think “it can’t happen here,” you should resign your position immediately.  You can’t effectively support public safety while ignorantly denying the possibility of evil occurring in your domain.

For all that, it is my most fervent wish that we wouldn’t have to defend ourselves against an attack.  It’s my most fervent wish that “peace in our time” were a reality and that the attacks committed by hateful people in the name of a twisted cause simply didn’t happen.  There would be no deaths. There would be no damage. There would be no horror. There would be no loss.  We could all simply enjoy our lives each day, appreciating our loved ones and seeing the beauty of the world in which we live.

But, as I said above: until such a day comes where 100% of humanity is peaceful and non-violent, there will always have to be warriors for good; those who face the evil which uses violence as a means to an end.

To be a warrior for good, you can’t live – physically, mentally or emotionally – in a blissfully ignorant state.  You have to acknowledge that evil IS real and violence CAN happen and to avoid being a victim requires you to take positive action AGAINST the evil.  That means being prepared. It means being aware. It means being capable. It means being willing to commit necessary acts of justifiable violence to defend those you are sworn to protect.

To meet those qualifications you must train.  You must exercise. You must stay in a physical condition that will allow you to meet the demands of combat.  And yes, I know – some just got upset at the word “combat.”  Look it up.  It is entirely applicable.

Combat as defined by dictionary.com: armed fighting with enemy forces.

In this case, for the purposes of this article, “enemy” means anyone who commits or attempts to commit an act of violence or harm to another.  Sometimes, as law enforcement professionals are taught in the academy, SOMETIMES just your presence is enough to keep the enemy from doing harm; sometimes just the presence of good is sufficient to keep evil from showing its true face.  But that’s only sometimes.  Other times, evil is determined and willful and requires the use of positive force to stop them from attaining their intended harmful goals.

To stop them, the GOOD must be physically prepared, well trained, aware of what’s going on and willing to take the necessary action to interrupt the evil attempts.  The GOOD are then combatting evil.  In combat, you are either a warrior or you are a victim. In combat, a warrior faces another warrior and the best trained, most fit, most prepared, strongest of will emerges victorious.

To that end, we as a people can no longer embrace the philosophy of pacifism or the happy thought that there is some way we can appease those who hate us and want us dead.  Unless we as a people are willing to sacrifice our family members… our mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, etc… unless we are willing to sacrifice them without any resistance – in the name of peace – then there can be no peace.  And, for that matter, even if we’re willing to make the sacrifice, as evil KILLS the innocents, THAT isn’t peace either.

PEACE is maintained by the prevention of evil acts.  The prevention of evil acts is accomplished by those who are willing to stand against evil and defeat it BEFORE it has a chance to execute its violent plans and, failing that, to respond rapidly with aggressive force to STOP the violent plans once they begun execution.  PEACE is accomplished by the presence of WARRIORS who appreciate and value the ability to live a non-violent existence, but who stand ready to embrace that violent existence when it becomes necessary.

This is my point: in today’s society we make much of those who reach out with a forgiving and supportive hand; we are led by elected representatives who have embraced an apologetic attitude toward EVERY complaint or insult.  That outlook and approach only accomplishes one thing: it empowers our enemies by making us look weak and afraid. Part of resisting evil is showing those who would practice it that we are not weak; we are not afraid; we are more than willing to fight back and we will NOT be willing victims.  To present that image we need WARRIORS both in practice and profession.  We need leaders who will state our strength, identify it, glorify it, and use it as a warning against to those who would dare stand against us.

Remember the three groups of warriors I identified earlier, that means we need leaders who embrace not only the strength of our military (and support keeping it strong), but also the strength of our law enforcement professionals (and support them in a positive light) AND the strength of the American citizen.  If you actually measured it in raw numbers, the strength of the American citizen would FAR outweigh the strength of the military or the law enforcement and maybe even both combined.  Yet the strength of the American citizen is all too often simply overlooked or ignored.

THAT is unacceptable.  THAT makes us look weak to our enemy. THAT empowers and emboldens our enemies.  THAT must change!