A Day to Reflect

After the events of the past couple of days I need a break. I need to take a breath and look around calmly. Today I will live free. I will not hide from the authoritarians in government, but I will also not bow to them. I will not worry about the mass-murder fan-club known as The Brady Campaign, nor any of the other groups or mouthpieces who lurk in the shadows, waiting to feed off of events like this. I will ignore them. I will grieve for the victims of Virginia Tech's rules; a policy which allowed a sociopath to kill unopposed. I pledge to myself to always stay prepared to act in defense of myself and my community. I will nurture the mindset, not of a victim, but of a free man. A free human responsible for my own life and safety. A free man who willingly takes on the responsibility to silently look out for those blissfully unaware people around me, not out of some sense of superiority, but from the desire to live in a world where civility remains the norm. That is the thing to remember: civility is the norm. Events like massacres get our attention because they are rare. Heroes rise up in every instance of tragedy, just like Liviu Librescu, a Jewish professor at Virginia Tech who gave his life to save the students in his room. It is a shame he was unarmed at the demand of the school and therefore not able to end the rampage completely, but he did what he could with what he had. That is all we can do. Do what you can with what you have, and make certain you have what it takes. In your mind, in your heart, and in your hand.