In the wake of the recent movie theater shooting I was wondering if anyone had any thought on their own safety when they do things in a public setting. While it is almost impossible to safe guard against a person that decides to go crazy, there are ways that one can minimize the potential of harm, or so one might think. Is a sense of security really just an illusion?
I think it's an illusion if we think we can create our own security, or expect the police to be there if we need them, at any given time. I do believe we have a Creator who watches over us, and will intervene for us, as a result of prayer. None of this keeps me from worrying a little when I am anywhere in public these days. My kids go to the movies a lot, and although we live in a reasonably safe small town, yeah I worry.
The perceived task of police departments in the United States have changed over the years. Whereas, a common motto of police departments throughout the country once was "to protect and serve," they are now law enforcement agencies, who respond after the fact of a crime, and then to protect the interests of the town, state or federal government, rather than that of the victims.
There is no way to prevent a shooter such as we've seen recently. If there are armed citizens in the area they may minimize the damage by stopping the assailant. The police don't prevent crime. They are called after a crime has been committed.
I have a guardian angle. I worked him/her really hard at times, but I'm still here. I have so much confidence in him/her that I gave away my only gun awhile ago. I figure, if anything happens to me now, it's just my time to go.
I truly, truly believe that always thinking about your security means not living your life. If you're always concerned that someone is going to go crazy and stab you in the middle of the street, or you're going to be caught as a hostage in a robbery, then you're always concerned and you forget to enjoy life's pleasures. Sense of security? Hah! I don't feel it at all, and I don't care!
We are fatalists when it comes to that. If we are destined to meet that fate then so be it. But it doesn"t mean that we don't take care regarding security of our life and limbs. Like in a public place, we may not be properly equipped to handle a crisis like a crime or an accident. That's why in driving, we try to be attentive all the time and never touch the phone when holding the steering wheel. But if we would be too conscious with security then I guess we would be paranoid and not enjoy our life anymore.
Yes I have often felt that I have been especially fortunate and that if there was such a thing as a guardian angel then I had to have one. On more then on instance when something could have gone badly I had luck like no person could have ever imagined. So much so that I have developed this blind trust of the inner voice. Have you ever drove down the road, like on your way to work or something, and then for whatever reason something happens and you suddenly turn or do something so out of the ordinary that you are wondering why did I do that? When that happens to me I just accept that it is something greater and go on. This one morning I was driving my son to his then job at the office depot, it was like 6 am, and no matter what we did it just seemed like we were getting later and later, even though I had started off in plenty of time. There is this area that passes right under a bridge to the thruway, a bridge we go under every day several times a day. By the time we actually made it to the bridge we found all these emergency vehicles because a 16 wheeler had flown off and was dangling precariously. When I watched the news that night I realized had we been on time that truck could have intersected with us! Angels afoot no doubts