Greece and Bloggers and Getting What You Wish For

From Ann Barnhardt: 

In case you hadn't heard, Greece is burning tonight, as those people would rather burn their own country to the ground than turn loose of the government teat. Take notes and learn well, because if a bunch of middle class Greeks will do this, just imagine what the welfare class in this country will do when our inevitable collapse happens. It will be far, far worse here. The hip-hop culture absolutely guarantees that it won't just be looting and burning. There will be RAPING. Got guns? Got ammo? If you don't, I hope you dream tonight of watching a gang of 17 year-olds take turns at your wife and your children while you watch. But hey, at least you never "stooped" to keeping guns in the house. I'm sure your four year old daughter will appreciate that principled stance while having her intestines torn apart - FROM THE INSIDE - while screaming in vain for her unarmed, but oh-so-morally-superior Daddy to save her.  

I really should put the link to Barnhardt's site in the sidebar because she is smart and right and articulate most of the time.  Nevertheless, there is something that prevents me from wholeheartedly endorsing her.  I have trouble putting my finger on it, but I have met a number of people like her.  They don't scare me or worry me, not even in person. I am sure that Ms. Barnhardt is a Christian and thus my sister in Christ, and I tend to think if we met we would get along fine.  Still, I have to wonder if she is entirely what she seems to be.  I sometimes say that, unlike the typical troll, I'm much nicer on the internet than I am in person.  Other than that, I try to honest about what I say.  I am, for the most part -- except for perhaps my hat size, a remarkably average and unimpressive man.

Ms. Barnhardt is clearly above average, and she is thoroughly correct about what she says above.  But her choice of words is interesting, to say the least.  There are some wicked people in the world.  I know -- for one thing, I used to work in a prison.  I also used to spend a lot of time with church folks.  You can find out about evil either way.  Ann Barnhardt's words are offensive as the truth often is.  A lot of us need to grow up and get past being offended because we hear certain words.  Being offended by words is often a form of manipulation for the purpose of control or domination -- that is to say, witchcraft.

On the other hand, there is a kind of dark glee behind what she says.  Perhaps I am misreading, because, unless you really trip my temper, you will never hear me talk like that, let alone be calm enough to write it down.  Twenty or so years ago, I made a phone call to a man who traded firearms.  He lived in a different part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and I was looking for a particular handgun that I thought he might have.  We discussed it, and he did not, as it turns out, have the one I wanted, but he did have a Colt King Cobra that interested me.  I asked about seeing it.  He said that he did not keep his guns at his place and would have to make arrangements to get it if I wanted to make an appointment.  He said, "If anybody breaks in here looking for guns, all they'll get is a face full of shot."  Again, that's not an unreasonable statement if not said with too much enjoyment.  But I told him I would think about it and call him back.  I never did. 

What is it that Alfred says in The Dark Knight?  Some men just want to watch the world burn.  Be careful when dreaming of unveilings.  The modern world is flawed and restricting and often annoying.  There is much that needs correction.  Catastrophic correction, should it take place, will be no fun.  For a very mild example, as I write, we are dealing with two to four inches of wet, heavy snow.  It is already a few degrees above freezing and most of the accumulation will be gone by the end of today or tomorrow at the latest.   Snowplows were running yesterday and last night.  What if there were no road crews?  I have a four-wheel drive truck with good clearance, but I have seen drifted snow high-center a tractor.  Ready to shovel your way to town?  There are always accidents during these little storms.  What if there are no cops to work the accidents?  No EMTs for injuries?  No firemen with the "Jaws of Life"?

But beyond all that, a breakdown of society will not result in some Disney-fied happy heaven -- nor will it be a Frank Miller graphic novel.  The reality of ending the life of another creature, let alone another human, is not a source of glee.  I have killed game animals, varmints and pests.  I have slaughtered livestock, put down dogs and killed feral animals.  You do what you have to do, but, if you have a soul, there is always, at the very least, a solemnness, a sort of reverence that needs to be observed. 

As I said, I worked in a prison.  I have been in a guard tower with a rifle.  I have been on escape patrols with a riot gun.  The people I might have had to shoot were convicted felons, known and adjudicated as bad men, guilty, in some cases, of murder and other serious crimes.  Before I ever picked up a weapon,  I had to decide that I would not hesitate to shoot and shoot to kill if it came to it.  There were some who appeared to take this lightly.  I think there might have been a couple of escape patrols necessitated by guards who could not pull the trigger when they saw a man going over the fence.

Bad people can take lives and defile lives without compunction.  In the parable they are called predators.  I think that is an insult to predators.  Good people should reverence life.  If we lose the respect we should have for goodness and righteousness and our reverence for all life, there really is not much point in surviving.  Boasting and bravado should not enter in.  This is not to say there is not a thrill from coming out on top.  It is natural and should not be a point of guilt or shame that being victorious in a conflict is better than being defeated.  We fight when we have to, and we should fight to win.  Good people should realize that the time to make up theirs minds is now, to decide now that they will not hesitate, that they will do what they have to do.  But at the same time, it is vital to recognize that it will not be pretty or pleasant or easy, and it is never something to be sought or even wished for. 

It is our duty to defend against evil.  We hope, however, and we pray that it never comes to blood.  The first place to defeat evil is in our own hearts.  I am about to conclude that my "life verse" is:  Do not be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).  If we understand what this means, we can do the right thing the right way.