A Sense of Evil
This week I found myself being anxious regarding the world that my kids
are having to deal with. The onslaught of information that is constantly
being paraded before them is at a fever-pitch. Have I taught them well
enough to sift through it and discern the truth from lies? The lies are
conceived, designed and executed to deceive them.
There is a lot to worry about in our world. Political uncertainty is at
the top of the list. Traditional relationships between parties have
deteriorated into an ever-deepening chasm of opposition. The implications
of the mid-term elections are far-reaching. What does that mean for us?
As we picture ourselves as teachers, how should all of us filter information
that is being hurled at us so we can teach others?
A Sense for Evil
Most of us feel that we can sense something bad is about to happen. That
said, I’m sure there are varying degrees of competence, whether natural or
learned, within our community regarding personal situational awareness.
No matter how capable we may or may not be individually, we need be
able to teach others that may not have our built-in sense. I was once
exposed to a systematic approach to watching for and dealing with danger
by Col. Jeff Cooper and with a tip of the hat to him, I’ll explain his system.
While mainly used when away from home, aspects of it could certainly
apply at home. It struck me as a method that could us keep us and those
around us from having to use a handgun, knife or hand to hand to defend
ourselves and that is always the way to go. We train with our firearms,
knives and hand to hand to be ready for possible deadly encounters our
families may face but as glamorous as those encounters may seem, given
our theoretical victory, they always represent a very bad day. Knowing
that they have no access to firearms and no defensive skills, I have taught
this system to many youth groups. It is their only real chance at not
becoming a victim. For the rest of us, it is critical to know this system
because the fact is that we could be a firearms and hand to hand expert and be caught unaware of a potential threat and not have the chance to deploy our skills.
The Color Code of mental awareness.