Believing in Evil
Strange subject perhaps? Well to some possibly, but this was written to remind some people that not all in the garden is always rosy and smelling fragrant! Just because we ourselves might claim to be "good honest folks", never looking for trouble and living upright lives - this does not in any way act as a safeguard against raw evil.
Here we consider evil mostly with regard to drugs, criminality and the need to carry but let it not be forgotten that evil exists in many guises, often linked with power..
Do you believe in evil? You should - but If not then it might be suggested that you do! Or at least - appreciate that not all people have conscience and responsibility, despite perhaps feeling so very safe within your own life and where you live.
The thrust here is towards encouraging the beneficial uptake of concealed carry - based on the premise that not all people are good and imbued with altruistic intention, contrary to much popular and naive belief. Evil exists and may present itself at any time, at any place. This requires that law abiding individuals have the means to respond in order to survive and live another day, however remote the statistics might make it seem to the optimistic as well as the gun grabbing masses.
Let us look at the criminal mind and motivation from a few angles.
To rob is easier than earning a living? Yes, for some that is certainly very true as the easy option. Why sweat in a job when thievery can achieve results faster and with a potentially much richer return? Add to this the almost inevitable present day scourge of drug useage and there is the problem of how to finance that habit. It has been said that one "good evening" of crack cocaine abuse can cost $400!
Well - the average person can probably in no way earn through honest toil enough to get through even one day of a drug habit - and, pay the bills. We will not explore the semantics of drug control here but, suffice to to say that those with a serious habit will rarely if ever be able to support their habit by legitimate work alone, even if so inclined - apart from which a drug habit will probably leed to being fired! The options inevitably boil down to finding money or goods through crime, from which funds can be gleaned to achieve the next fix.
Maybe we should downplay the "evil'' element a moment somewhat and just concentrate on what addiction does to people. It makes for a mindset of "must have" ....... at all costs. Perhaps not immediately evil per se but, enough to rob that individual of reasonable consideration for others and their property. Once "need'' takes precedence we can soon justifiably apply a label of "evil". Take this a step further .....
Beyond the achievement or gain of monies to support a habit, are the physiological and psychological effects of drug useage. Even someone "high" on a Marijuana session might feel empowered enough to take a chance and rob someone. If the drug of choice however is perhaps methamphetamine or PCP - then we have a whole new ball game, as the individual is possibly spaced out to such an extent that even rational thought and pain are sublimated. A potential adversary who could be very dangerous - fearing no consequences, legal or physical - drug induced evil.
Let's now bring in to this equation, a weapon of some sort - either a knife or just as likely a gun. What is the criminal's mission? To gain money or goods at all costs - including the potential taking of a life if compliance is not met. Perhaps the thinking is based also on not leaving any witnesses - just as possible however is the simple thinking that if someone does not comply then, they have quite simply rescinded their right to life - they represented a barrier to the required result. Quite simply, life is cheap.
What does this mean when considering a citizen's option to carry a concealed weapon?
It means quite simply that, if confronted one day by a criminal with evil intent, they have the means to answer back ... a means to defend the self and/or loved ones and live to see another day. An option to respond immediately and not become a statistic which might otherwise simply be written up by law enforcement - the cops who arrive after the event, powerless to turn the clock back and able only to draw body chalk lines and start an investigation. This does not save lives, only "solve cases" if lucky - very poor substitute!
We hear often in CCW circles of "taking responsibility" ...... with regard to looking after oneself and those in the family. Is it far fetched? To many who look at gun carriers as paranoid freaks maybe, but to those with a sense of realism and a clear view of present day society - not so. If we accept that even in a best-case-scenario, law enforcement might exhibit a 2 to 4 minutes to response time - what happens during that time we might ask? A potential 30 to 60 seconds at least during which an attack might take place, and victim injury or death ensue - plenty long enough!
Some criminals if perceiving success will make their escape and be satisfied enough not to harm victims - others will still choose to inflict harm - it's their way. The more so perhaps in cases where the end result was seen as unsatisfactory and so retribution is sought against the unarmed victim. Are we to tolerate these odds? The answer should be "no", but then comment here is based on the ability to carry a firearm all all waking hours, and in all places legal in the one's state. The chances are that by the time we leave this mortal life (hopefully by natural means), we will never have had to employ the final sanction but - at the very least having had that option (and right). The option not to become a statistic wrapped in a body bag.
This has been covered before but we'll reiterate ... who has the precognitive skills to predict what will happen at any time and place in a day's events? Uncertainty is a fact, and not a dreamed up as a nebulous miniscule possibility. Do we know for sure that the next time we fill up with gas and go into the office to pay - that some low life will not be deciding that day to rob the establishment, with us the prime obstacle to success? Very doubtful.
The message is clear it's to be hoped - the acceptance that not all members of the human species are full of altruism and some just might be bent on achieving their ends through armed crime, with you as the barrier to their success. Is carrying a firearm such a big burden? Well yes, to some it would seem so - but if logic takes center stage and it is realized that trouble can find us, however much we may try and avoid it - then the option to have a personal means of self defence seems totally sensible, plus it conveys a message to criminals that not all potential victims will be an easy mark.
We do not by carrying a firearm suddenly become vigilantes or spoiling for a gun fight - far from it. We are however, empowered with a means of solving a threat situation such that we survive to live another day. We have truly taken the responsibility for our own protection and that of our loved ones. QED.