As we gather to shop for and celebrate our respective holiday events, it is important to remember that there are those who are bent on using fear and violence to further their cause of anger, prejudice and hate. They can strike anywhere in the world, without notice, potentially changing your life and that of those you love forever.
Recent incidents in Berlin, Nice and elsewhere highlight the fact tha efforts on the part of authorities to anticipate and thwart these massacres have had little success. Therefore, if you must be in crowded areas during the holidays or frankly at anytime, it is up to you to maintain awareness of your surroundings, the location of the nearest exits and any unusual activity in taking place in your proximity. Every few minutes, stop and scan what is going on around you. When and if you hear or see anything even remotely different or unusual, don't pass it off as inconsequential. Resolve to know what it is, where it's originating from and if it presents a danger. When in doubt, leave or move toward an exit route, until any uncertainty passes.
Logic would dictate that those with bad intentions would wish to inflict terror on the greatest number of people. It's a numbers game and achieving the highest number of casualties with the smallest device or least detectable plan is how efficiency is measured in the terrorism industry. Backpacks left unattended, large trucks plowing into crowds, knife wielding assailants and terrorists dressed as security personnel are several low tech schemes that come to mind.
Knowing that, to avoid becoming a victim, it would stand to reason that whenever possible, staying out of crowds or away from places where dozens or even hundreds of people gather, will greatly increase your chances of avoiding the terrorist threat that may eventually come to your city, town, or community, in some form or another.
Those places will include, but not be limited to:
Airports, train stations, schools, hospitals, hotels, clubs, shopping malls, parties, parades, fairs, concerts, beaches (on weekends especially), churches and yes, many workplaces. These are all places that have been targets of terrorism, whether perpetrated by the criminally insane or radical extremists.
Your obvious and understandable response to this list would be to say: "In order to stay away from these places, I will have to drastically change my behavior". And that analysis would be right on the money.
We've identified one of the problems, the fact that terror seeks to do as much damage as possible through attacks on places where people gather.
But the other problem is that security is expensive and also off-putting to potential customers. So many businesses and community services are reluctant to incorporate it. But to use this as an excuse to not have metal detectors and a police presence in every public venue, is to continue living in a haze of denial.
We are at war folks, a war for our very lives and there is no end in sight. I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, because, ostensibly, my job is to focus on the positive. That is the niche I've carved out for myself, to provide you new ideas and ways to create sustainable happiness.
And if you'll read my book or peruse some of my other posts, you'll discover that creating and sustaining happiness does require some difficult choices, discipline, the development of new habits. Also, a focus on staying alive and healthy, among other things.
The world has changed and we must change with it.
Here are some of the survival strategies I propose in response to the proliferation of guns, bombs and violence in our society.
Make your home a sanctuary - Stop thinking of your home as just a place to hang your hat, sleep, shower and shave. Your home statistically is the safest place for you to be. So if you live in a house, paint the interior, decorate the walls with art, bring in some flowers, landscape the yard, attract birds and butterflies and take up a hobby that you can do from home that promotes joyfulness and perhaps eventually provides an additional income.
If you rent or live in an apartment, it becomes a little more challenging, but there is still much you can do to make your living space more enjoyable. If you're wondering where to get the money for that, add up what you spend at Starbucks and for the fancy ride currently parked in the driveway. Maybe you can repurpose some of that money into your living space. Remember, it's about making different choices.
Invite friends to see your new digs and provide them a place to recreate that serves as an alternative to crowded and dangerous public venues.
Consider taking your kids out of school - There is no doubt that the school system in the United States is struggling to fulfill its basic mission: That of educating our youth. Now, they are under pressure to also make their campuses more safe and impenetrable. But few, if any resources are voluntarily dedicated to that until or after a deadly crisis has struck.
Young children and teens are now the most vulnerable individuals in our society. To evildoers, killing kids provides the additional benefits of causing deep and lasting pain to their parents and culling individuals from future generations. They represent the ultimate soft (easy) target. Because we wish to shield them from the truth about the dark side of humanity, to preserve their innocence as long as possible, they are the least prepared to anticipate or respond to a killer in their midst. They just freeze in place and then, the unthinkable happens.
Take your kids out of school and educate them at home. Again, this involves making some difficult choices. If you and your spouse both work, find a way to downsize in order to keep one parent at home. If you are not yet married, seriously consider having fewer children so that raising, feeding and educating them at home will be a more manageable task.
Have religious services at home, rather than going to church -
Churches are a favorite target for terrorists, because attacking them damages the belief of the faithful. In many parts of the country and the world, the church represents the center of the community. It is where people find the solace and strength to deal with life's challenges and where they stay connected to their neighbors.
But this very fact makes striking a church like removing the spiritual scaffolding out from underneath an entire town or neighborhood. Additionally, churches are rarely protected by security and therefore, make an easy place to smuggle in weapons.
Travel by car whenever possible - If you're planning a vacation in the near future, consider finding a way to drive there, rather than flying or taking the train.
Train stations and airports have seen steady and consistent attacks, because so many people gather there. Furthermore, they are bogged down with luggage and kids in tow and less able to escape if violence ensues. Of course, planes and trains also provide an inviting target for terror, because so many are huddled in a small space. Blowing a piece of technology out of the sky makes a spectacular statement against the advance of modernity. A key obsession for those who would prefer to see the world return to the dark ages.
Alternatively, if you must take a train or plane, travel at odd hours. For a terrorist, striking a center of public transportation at midnight is anathema. For maximum impact, it is better to strike at commute times or on weekends when the facilities are crowded. Avoiding those times, ensures greater safety.
Conclusion - So often, when we are forced to make sweeping changes, the task seems daunting and scary. Then later, in the rear-view mirror, we recognize that as a result of those actions, our lives evolved in new, unanticipated and even exciting directions.
Throughout history, the course of humanity has been shaped by natural and man-made cataclysms. The world we now live in-for better or for worse- has directly resulted from those events. But drilling down to analyze the lives of the individuals impacted by those tumultuous times, we discover that those who survived and lived on to foster future generations were those who anticipated an end to "the world as they knew it" and made the difficult choices to create a new, albeit, unfamiliar paradigm. A paradigm that emphasized action over apathy, awareness over ignorance and survival over annihilation.
We are now living in such times. Those who refuse to change may find themselves relegated to a sound byte; statistic on the morning news. As my father once told me: "Forewarned is Forearmed". Knowledge is power, but only when you use it to inspire the appropriate response.
-Shane Eric Mathias
Author of 3 books, currently available on Amazon.com:
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