POLICE Protection, the New U.S., and Why the New 'Terror' is Ourselves . . .

I live down the street from two different Islamic-owned grocery stores (plus I often buy hot dogs on sale at another in downtown St. Petersburg!). In each of these situations, the people who work in these stores are only nominally islamicized (they are, after all, selling PORK products in the form of 89 cent hot dogs and Cuban sandwiches of all things!). Yes, due to the War on Terror, I often feel a bit uneasy about entering these stores, but heck, at 89 cents per fully dressed hot dog and at $3.40 for a freshly-made Cuban sandwich (again, made with PORK products!), these Arabic store prices just cannot be beaten!!!

But, in spite of relatively congenial relations with my local Arabic-speaking grocers (who sell PORK, and also even sell alcoholic products . . . I guess they are not "technically" Islamic anymore . . .), I nonetheless am always living 'life on the edge' . . .

I have taken Tae Kwon Do, and I NEVER plan to use it, but nonetheless, I am ALWAYS thinking about various 'what if' situations.

Take the recent shooting in Illinois for example. Disgruntled student = 7 dead and 16 wounded.

The man who did the carnage apparently has a father who lives in LAKELAND, FLORIDA, just 45 minutes away from where I live!

OR, how about THIS example, just this past week, at St. Petersburg College, the campus in Clearwater (where I will be teaching 'World Religions' this May through July . . .) there was a 'gunman' who was arrested for threatening his girlfriend, complete with a campus lock-down!

WHAT IS OUR society coming to???

I have actually thought about going ahead and buying a hunting bow to protect myself at my apartment 'just in case' all pandemonium breaks out . . . (Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans did result in mass looting and the Lousiania Governor being forced to call in the Louisiana National Guard wanting 'boots on the ground' immediately).

Friends, we in the U.S. live in trying times . . . The DARK AGES of U.S.A. HISTORY!!!

Within these 'New Dark Ages' what we need is an INCREASE in POLICE PROTECTION!

EXPAND ALL LOCAL POLICE FORCES by 30% over the next four years!

Yes, we are living in such violent times, almost like the 'Wild West' even . . . In fact, in Texas, a new "Castle Law" is being put on the books permitting residents to use deadly FORCE against would-be intruders . . .

I believe in non-violence as a Christian. I am also a just-warrior in the tradition of Catholic Theologians St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Blessings and LOVE in Jesus Christ,
Rob J. King