Last night my four year old girl got out of bed and came to me because she was afraid. I asked her what she was afraid of. " What if the orcs come?" She asked, her big blue eyes glistening, and wide expecting an answer.
"Don't worry about orcs ( it's pointless to tell her they don't exist ) Daddy can kill any orcs that try to come in here."
"What if they have swords?"
"Daddy has guns. Now off to bed."
As I tucked her into bed and gave her a kiss I thought to myself what an innocent time childhood is, when fictitious orcs are your biggest fear. Monsters aren't real, yet to her they are. Then a darker thought clouded my mind as I remembered the eighteen Iraqi children killed by a homicidal bomber on wednesday, and the score of kids that have been in recent news as victims of murderous predators. I grimmaced and thought to myself, monsters are real. And they are more terrible in real life than any imaginary orc.
The real monsters come in the form of terrorists, murderers, molesters, abusers, drug dealers, the porn industry, and many other nameless forms. As a father I wondered how to protect her from the real monsters. If she could only just stay afraid of orcs for the rest of her life.
Today I sit in fatherly indignation at the evils lurking in the world. Who would plow through a gathering of children and blow up themselves in a vehicle, killing all the kids, just for the chance to get at two Americans handing out candy? What monster is capable of such evil? I think of the sicko, Joseph Duncan, who kidnapped Shasta Groene, and while repeatedly assaulting her sexually over the next several days bragged to her about murdering her family. The real monsters are out there. The evil is real, and for crying out loud, the fight needs to start getting REAL.
I for one am sick of hearing that 9/11 was our fault. That we need to see what we did to make the terrorists mad at us. I am sick of hearing all the crying and weeping over the so-called poor conditions at GTMO! I am REALLY REALLY tired of finding out every time a child is murdered that it turns out to be a repeat offender, who should have been in jail!
This isn't about republicans, democrats, liberals or conservatives. I'm just a father, husband, and American and I know I'm not alone in my desire to protect my family, and my freedom. I see evil at the doorstep. I see the monsters in the dark, for who they really are. . .Monsters, and they should be treated as such.
14 years ago
3 comments:
And I harbor the same feelings over my Grandchildren!
Kermit
Wow! You are so right on this one. There are horrible people out there and horrible things happen, and little by little I hope that we make a difference in the world by this war on drugs, war on terror, I suppose that's what keeps us sane, hope. Good points, awesome post as always. You're not at all alone in these feelings and beliefs.
I'm outraged by the lack of concern over the safety of our children. For the first time in the history of the world, our children have lock-down drills. I was at my daughter's school, during a lock-down and I listened to the conversations of the children. Some were scared they would die, others were planning how to attack the gunman if he entered the room...meanwhile, I sat there, realizing that my daughter was growing up in a very different world than when I was young!
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