Reece Gardner: Come on in, the coast is clear
It has amused me over the years to see signs prominently posted on building entrances reading, "This is a Gun Free Zone," or "No weapons of any kind allowed on these premises." You may recall the "No Gun Zone" sign prominently posted a few years ago at the entrance to a school in Lakeland, Florida, which made it a clear target for a young man with a demented mind hearing Satan telling him to kill people.
What signs such as these are telling the criminal is "Come on in, the coast is clear." These signs posted at schools in our country are actually open targets for criminals and the mentally unsound. A common sense approach to this problem, which is being implemented in some schools, might be to look seriously at the idea of having armed personnel in our schools.
Many of our schools already have trained personnel among their administrations and faculties who know how to use firearms and could carry them safely. Author and Editor Tim Brown at Freedom Outpost posted some remarks about a situation which occurred a few years ago, but remains very relevant today, in which a 15-year-old student opened fire at a school near Spokane, Washington, and while the media and some politicians attacked gun owners, the rights of those owners, and the Constitution, one sheriff in the area stood up and pulled back the curtain on what the real problem was. He said, "this is a situation that plays out in our society way too often and we as a society need to make a determination as to what's causing it.
Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich continued, "Where did we really go sideways in raising our kids? Perhaps we taught them to glorify wrong things. It is time for each of us to say 'No More' to the hate and violence that we see all around us." He then closed with this: "I carried a gun all my life. My high school friends and I looked forward to hunting season back home. When I was in high school, every one of those rigs in the high school parking lot had a gun in the gun rack. We went hunting on the way home. None of these guns ever walked into a school. None of these guns ever shot anybody. What's the difference now? Did the gun change, or did we as a society change? I'll give you odds that it was us as a society, because we started tolerating violence and glorifying gang culture. Folks, the gun didn't change - WE DID."
But starting TODAY we can make things better by living the words of this poem: "Another fresh new day is here, another day to live, to banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give, this bright new day is given me to live with joy and zest, to daily grow and try to be, my highest and my best, I have the opportunity, once again, to right a few old wrongs, to pray for peace in every heart, and to sing more joyful songs."
AMEN!
A lot of what we accomplish is steeped in self-confidence. An example of this is in the story of the young man who walked into Mr. Johnson's drug store and asked if he could use his telephone. Upon being given permission to do so, he dialed a number and a lady answered the phone.
He said, "Ma'am, I have been observing your lawn, and I would like the opportunity of taking care of your lawn on a regular basis."
The lady told him that she already had someone doing that job, but the young man persisted, "But Ma'am, whatever he is charging you, I will do the job for half that price, as well as twice as fast and twice as good." The lady repeated that she was completely satisfied with the boy who was already working for her.
The young man hung up the phone, and Mr. Johnson said, "Son, I couldn't help overhearing that conversation, and I'm so sorry you didn't get that job," to which the young man replied, "Oh, Mr. Johnson, I already have that job. I was just checking up to see how I was doing!"
Now that's self-confidence! God bless America!
