“Death is the sentence.  We know there’s nothing to be embarrassed about this, death is the sentence. …We have to have that compassion for people, with homosexuals, it’s the same, out of compassion, let’s get rid of them now.” – Dr. Sheikh Sekaleshfar, comments regarding homosexuals in 2013

 

As I sit in my office digesting the latest terror attack on our nation, one image from the day continues to run through my head – A mother in tears on scene in the early hours of the morning. Her worry, her fear, her broken heart, her horror. She’d had no contact with her son since he’d gone out earlier in the evening, and now, two hours after the murderer had been killed by police, her son’s phone was going to voice mail. The worst was now expected.

Every student I’ve ever had has heard me say the reason I carry guns is so that my father, and my love, will not have to bury me.  I will defend myself from violence so they will not have to cry over my coffin.  And I’ve devoted my life to preparing others for the fight so they, too, may return home to those they love.

This nation is at war.

My grandfather understood war. He survived multiple Kamikaze attacks in the Pacific. All of his generation sacrificed in one form or another to defeat multiple enemies on multiple fronts. Rationing, service, shortages, double shifts…America was all in.

Not so today. Americans are allowed to ignore it. The war is something mentioned on the news in passing. It’s an afterthought. And because of it we are disconnected, we are weak, and we are prime targets.

Today, the only recurring thought in my mind is how much I would have liked to have woken up this morning to an interview with that same mother making this statement:

“I haven’t talked to my son – I know the police are still questioning him, and the paramedics haven’t released him, yet.  But they told me he was able to return fire and stop the rampage. I’m so glad he was armed and that he’s alive.”

Of course, I know the difference between fantasy and reality, and the reality is that no son or daughter in that building was able to return fire.  And, the reality is that most there probably wouldn’t carry guns if they could, or be responsible with them if they did, or have the ability to defend if it was necessary. However, it doesn’t take everyone, it just takes one warrior. It takes one person with the spirit, heart, mind, and skill. It takes one person to be in the right place at the right time with the tools to do the job.

Our nation needs warriors, and it needs them everywhere – in every crowd, at every venue, on every street.

If you’ve been on the fence, it’s time to commit. If you are willing, we need you. We need you to get training, and we need you to carry at all times.

-Frank

 

“We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…” – Winston Chruchill, June 4, 1940