Responsibility for personal safety and the ultimate weapon.

I'm watching the news, and appalled at what I'm hearing... more shootings - this time it's in Colorado. The shootings are indeed a tragedy, but what's even more appalling to me are the words of the news anchor, "...no one thought this could occur in a suburb of Colorado where they were supposed to be safe."

My question is this - why did these victims believe they were "supposed to be safe"?

One of the first things I learned in the Army is that "The first priority of work is security". This means, that security is more important than eating, sleeping, etc. While you are eating the fake "chicken" from your MRE, your buddy is holding a rifle and watching the perimeter.

I don't think that this level of security is necessary for day to day living, but in today's America people are so defenseless that the idea that someone might want to hurt them doesn't even cross their mind. Inevitably, someone will always take advantage of this mindset and using a gun, bomb, knife, vehicle or some other type of weapon, they kill or maim individuals who thought they were safe.

The irony is that after the fact, the stunned spectators of the carnage clamor for unilateral disarmament, so that they can continue to walk around with their false sense of security - believing that if the bad people don't have a means to hurt them, then they are safe.

The problem with this thought process is that the ultimate weapon isn't a gun, knife, bomb, etc... it's the human brain. The ability to think and use tools is what sets mankind apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. The only way to effectively "disarm" the individuals that would seek to harm the rest of us rational sentient beings, is to give them all full frontal lobotomies. A murderer can kill you without the aid of a gun, he or she could just as easily use a sharp stick.

The solution is for us to start arming ourselves; with the best weapon we have available - our brains. Accept the fact that someone might try to hurt you today and prepare accordingly.

• Take a the concealed weapon class and get your permit to carry concealed.
• Choose an appropriate pistol for you; practice with it regularly and carry it with you wherever it is permitted.
• "Be polite, be courteous..." but be suspicious of anyone whose behavior appears to be out of the ordinary.
• Make you and your house be a visibly hard target. Always appear alert when your are in public, and make sure your house is well lit with appropriate landscaping and hardware to prevent a home invasion.
• Don't allow anyone you don't know or trust to enter your perimeter unchallenged. Don't let bums on the street get close to you on the street and don't open the door to strangers at home.

If you're using your head, you'll likely never have to act in violence to protect yourself, but if you ever do - you'll be glad you were prepared and instead of lamenting your death or injury on the news, I'll be celebrating the incarceration or demise of the societal virus that was unwise enough to mess with you.