“I Will Rage, Rage Against the Dying Light”

07 Aug “I Will Rage, Rage Against the Dying Light”

As an officer of the law, I have to make this decision every time I put on my uniform; the decision to survive.  I know those patches that read POLICE in reflective yellow make me a target of violence.  I understand that the oath I took to uphold the law and to protect & serve others means I will place myself between the threat and the innocent.  And I do so with the mindset that I will also protect my own life with equal ferocity.

When I teach Active Shooter Preparedness, I ask my audience to make a similar decision to not be a victim.  I ask that they decide now, in advance of such an event, and give themselves permission to survive.

The mental preparation for such an event is just as important as the written documentation and drills required by OSHA.  It may be the most important thing you do.  Yet even in Orlando, there were people inside the club who spent their last few moments of life texting loved ones rather than fighting for that right to live.

We have become a society that places the welfare of our very being in hands of others.  We have become complacent, content to sit, and wait for help to arrive.  Hope it arrives on time.  Trust me, we are coming and we are coming in droves.  But until we arrive, your survival will be determined by the actions you take.  Your life matters to us, you have to believe at that moment, even when it doesn’t matter to that gunman, your life matters.  Do not give up.

Make the decision today.  Decide that you will not be a victim, that you will do whatever you have to to survive.  Decide that you will not go gently into that good night, that you will rage, rage against the dying light (Dylan Thomas 1951).

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