We Rise Again -- Remembering OPD Officer Dan Bessant

I never knew Officer Dan Bessant as he was gunned down about four months before I started the Police Academy. I was about midway through the application process to become a police officer for the City of Oceanside on the night Dan was murdered. Sitting at home with my wife the night of December 20th, 2006 we could hear endless sirens from nearby College Blvd and in the distance. I knew that something big had happen. The next morning I learned what tragedy had unfolded. The loss of a human life, a warrior, an officer.

A battle was waged in heaven and Satan was cast out for his pride. The battle continues here on earth....The goodness of man's heart battling sins of the flesh. In the end good prevails but the battle must be fought, the days long, the hour dark and sometimes all will seem lost....but fight we must. When our comrades are struck down we must not forget that their souls have been ransomed and salvaged. For when Dan was gunned down in cold blood, his earthly body did die..........his flesh was bloodied and torn but his soul lives and his uniform of wool, kevlar armor and semi-automatic pistol were cast aside as he dawned his new uniform of light, armor of righteousness and God's mighty sword as he took up his new position in St. Michael's Army. He will continue to keep guard over Heaven's gates, keeping watch over his earthly brothers. The battle against evil is not yet finished, his fight continues but fear not because Satan's demons are no match for God's warriors. Sins days are numbered. In our own time we will meet Dan and the rest of God's soldiers on streets of Gold!

The Power of the Christmas Season

When I first watched this, I watched it live, it was a cloudy day and it was dark and gray in the house all morning long...there is a segment were Glenn says the following:

"I think we are missing the true power of God, the power of the season the power of Christmas. If you are just lighting a candle for the season, well then you are missing out on the point that Miracles can and do happen. And now more than ever, I think, God is crying out to us and telling us he will sustain us, he will light our way. I know it to be true."

Just as he was saying this and reached the point "he will light our way" the sun streamed in through the blinds of the window in front of me. Some will call it coincidence, but I will call it GOD!

Everyday Heroes (The Atlas Patriot)

Everything that is good about America is and always has been derived from its people. Individuals! I’m quite confident that if we look at all that is wrong with our country today we can find the answer within ourselves. We assume that everything will work out. We assume that because we have been born into greatness and lived in the greatest country in the world that it is a guarantee. The truth is many of us have forgotten that freedom must be fought for and goodness manifests itself through actions rather than thought. What is the point of your existence? Is it about acquiring as much wealth as you can, as much stuff as you can, as much entertainment as you can, while you can? Do others matter at all?

We need to change ourselves so that we put others above ourselves. We must sacrifice some of our own comforts for others; we must serve. Until we change ourselves we can’t expect our families to change, our friends to change, our communities and our country to change. It is time to jump off the bandwagon. We can’t just sit idly by anymore. It takes courage to act and act we must.

Look to the heroes in your life. Look to the people who you believe to be good people. Look to those that put themselves last. Look to those who stand by their principles. We have to incorporate the goodness of others into ourselves and vice versa. It starts with little things and the little things combine to form big things. There are many iconic heroes that have existed throughout history many of whom did nothing extraordinary in their lives but simply stood by their principles or put others first.

Our politicians are not going to fix the problems that exist in America today. It has to start with ourselves and with our families. It is not an easy task and will take work, but we must be willing to put the effort into it. Start by setting a goal for yourself, a simple goal, then repeat it on a weekly basis then once it becomes routine, expand on it with a new goal and then another and another.

I hope to in the future of this blog to tell about some of the everyday heroes in my life, the Atlas Patriots! In the meantime don’t expect things to happen, make them happen!

A Message of Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for many things. Life comes with its hardships. I am thankful. Not a day goes by that there is not some challenge to be dealt with. I am thankful. 1776 this country I love was born! I am Thankful. Many have died for her since. I am Thankful. I am thankful for my wife, my children my family. I have had a good life.

It’s easy to lose sight; our focus blurred. The world seems so evil. America seems to be failing. The world we recognized as children is not the same today. I am still thankful. Increased crime, increased terror, increased heartache. I am still thankful. I am still thankful because in spite of it all there are still miracles….still people who believe, who love, who care for others, put others above themselves, put principles above themselves…selflessness STILL exists. I am still thankful.

Each day I put on a uniform, a gun and a badge. Oh the hardships that comes with it. I am always thankful. I don’t always like it. There are days I’d rather walk away from it all. Days I don’t want to go to work. I am always thankful. A molested child, A dead body, A battered woman, A broken home, A broken marriage, A broken family. Blood, tears, screams, hate! I am always thankful. There are helping hands, people who heal, shoulders to cry on. Heroes…in uniform and out. I am always thankful. Giving of money, of time, of heart, mind and soul……giving of everything! SACRIFICE……I am always thankful.

Salvation! He died for our sins! A second chance! A chance to live life the best we can in a fallen world so we can spend eternity in heaven. An unrivaled plan! A fallen world where miracles happen. A God who loves. An amazing plan for each one of our lives. Earthly failure is not heavenly failure. Man created in HIS image….the glory that is evident in his creation, even with the presence of sin. LIGHT will cast out darkness. Good prevails, we win. HE wins! ETERNAL LIFE………..

THANK YOU! FOR ETERNITY

Hypocrisy

I’m willing to bet that every person who has ever lived has been guilty of being a hypocrite at one point or another during his or her own lifetime. As for myself, I know for a fact that I have not only been a hypocrite at some point in my life but am probably guilty of hypocrisy on a daily basis. Most the time I probably don’t even realize it. What happens when I do realize that I have been a hypocrite? Do I brush it off? Do I make excuses? Do I reflect on it? Do I attempt to fix it? Do I apologize?

I am a hypocrite and I’m also a Christian. Christians often come across as the most hypocritical people on the planet. Ivory tower preaching while living sinful lives can be hard for others to accept. Christians are often the biggest enemy of Christianity. In a fallen world, no human is without sin but the expectation is that the religious should be, the power on the microscope is dialed up for us and rightfully so. Christians are expected to live up to the “Gold Standard” the teachings and standards set in the Bible.

Hypocrisy of non-Christians….

There is no separation of church and state clause in the U.S. Constitution, yet the attack on Christianity has been staggering. Remove crosses from public lands remove prayer, remove God and any references and images of religion. U.S. started as place people would come to for religious freedom and now religion itself is under attack.

In California, creationism and religion is not taught in public school but now a block of education will be dedicated to the topic of homosexuality. Why is one considered ok and not the other? Why is it ok to attack Judeo-Christian beliefs and symbols? Why can people attack the religious through labeling, stereotyping and name-calling? If somebody attacks or vandalizes based on sexual preference, race or religion it is considered a hate crime however it has become acceptable to erase Christianity from public view and public ear.

It’s easy to look back on history and see what Hitler did with the Jews. We all acknowledge the attempted eradication of anything Jewish. Some of us even ask how they could not see it coming or why didn’t they stop it. It’s happening here in the United States. Jews and Christians are used as a scapegoat. There is an increased attempt to make us appear evil, uneducated and antiquated.

I urge everyone reading this post, both religious and atheist to look in a mirror before putting others under a microscope. Be watchful those who speak in absolutes, be watchful of hypocrisy.

Satire and Subterfuge!

Thank God for humor! Without it most of us probably couldn’t tolerate the nonsense that we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Comedy takes the edge off of more serious topics by presenting things in an entertaining manner. Comic Relief!

Satire especially, is used to poke fun at people and ideas through the use of exaggeration and sarcasm. Satire is a great source of entertainment, especially in the arena of politics and current events. Lord knows we can’t take life too seriously or we are all likely to go insane.

HOWEVER, if we never take life seriously we are likely to be lulled into a trance and led away like children by the Pied Piper of Hamelin. There comes a time where we must face reality and, in a conscious state, address real issues.

The dangers of an over reliance on comedy are two-fold. First, we are likely to miss the message of how the real story impacts our lives. We lose the ability to make informed decisions because we get so caught up in being entertained. The importance of a given topic is downplayed and thus easily forgotten. Second, we get an even more opinionated view of reality. Spin, slant, agenda, bias or whatever you want to call it. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of bias that goes into non-comedic presentations but at least you get a clearer picture of what is going on, especially if you get your information from a variety of sources.

Beware the subterfuge of satire! Looking specifically at politics, both sides (Liberal and Conservative) use this tactic a lot. They make the other side sound absolutely ridiculous by presenting their views in an over-the-top and highly exaggerated manner. Additionally, by making the opposing side’s argument sound silly they are attempting to discredit them.

It’s true no matter what side of the aisle we are on we often see the views of the other as being off in left field, but its important to know the real reason why! We must be able to rationally argue our beliefs and discredit our opposition’s in a respectful manner. This allows us to more clearly see the flaws in our own arguments, find middle ground if it exists or checkmate the opposition. The Federalist Papers are one of the best examples I can think of how to effectively argue a point.

Fight fair and don’t let your zeal for a certain topic cause you to belittle your opponent…something I am guilty of from time to time! Embrace comedy for what it is but don't rely on it. Don't fall asleep!

Innocence Lost: The betrayal of a father

I have been formulating in my mind a blog about subterfuge, however that will have to wait until next time as there is a more pressing matter to discuss; the parent/child relationship and more specifically, the father/son relationship.

Dispatch: “7B be in route XYZ location for a seven year old suffering from an emotional disorder running away from his mother.

7B: “in route”

Dispatch: “7B be in route code 3. Call has been upgraded to an 11-45, child made threats of killing himself and has jumped over a fence and into a pool”

7B: “10-4”

I arrive on scene, flagged down by mom at the community pool. The seven year old, is thankfully not in the pool, but on top of a slide on the adjacent playground inside the pool complex. A sigh of relief as I realize it was just another case of a parent overreacting and communication error with police dispatch…..WRONG!

What I encountered over the next hour was emotionally heart wrenching. It was tragic. I realized that in the pool or not, this child was drowning and what’s worse, he may have been under so long that irreparable damage had been done.

The long and short of it the child’s father is in prison. In prison for sexual abuse. I’ve seen it before, taken many reports of molestation by family members of kids of all different ages. Generally, as a police officer, you bury those cases down deep with in you, using bad humor and whatever you can so that it doesn’t destroy you. Something about this kid and this situation was different.

As I entered the gate and started approaching the child at the top of the slide I could see him watching me, waiting for me to cross some imaginary line he had drawn that meant I had come too close. “Get away from me!” He yelled repeatedly and tried to talk to him, comfort him and get him to come down. Get him to trust me just enough. An impossible task, even doubly so because of the uniform I was wearing. “I hate police officers! Leave me alone! You took my dad away!”

The boy eventually climbed off the play structure, making a futile attempt to climb a tall fence, then running around before he was snatched up my Sergeant who he hadn’t seen. The boy fought and screamed and kicked but a seven year old boy is no match for a full grown police officer…..no match for his father either.

I took hold of the boy and he battled me for the better part of a hour as I tried to comfort him until our psychological response team arrived, and then a private ambulance. A seven year old struggled without relent and I was physically and emotionally drained by the end of it and still had an entire shift to endure.

Holding that child he felt so much like my son who is just a few years younger. Innocence lost! I felt a momentary rage towards this boys father and wanted great harm done to the monster. My anger was only momentary; the child’s would be indefinite. I prayed numerous times while he was in my arms. I still pray that he will not become like his father.

A few moments of light in a dark time….I heard my Sergeant speaking with the mother and as she was relaying what the father had done my Sergeant interrupted and refused to let her call him “father.” He looked into her eyes and said he’s not a father, then looked at the grandfather who was standing nearby who you could tell had taken on that role, and he said that’s a father!

Last week I saw the Christian movie, Courageous, which if you don’t know is specifically about fathers. There is a dialogue in the movie where the lead character’s friends tell him you’re a good enough father and he replies that he does not want to just be a “good enough father.”

There are plenty of bad fathers out there; enough fathers who are good enough and one perfect Father. We have a responsibility to our children to try our best to be great fathers, to model The Father and, if we can, help the fatherless as well. If I was a better blogger, I’d be able to throw the statistics out there of the failure rate of children without fathers. We can’t do it alone. We need the support of mothers and other fathers, if one stumbles the others help him back to his feet.

Do not violate the innocence of any child and make sure that your children can trust you. Raise your sons to be men. Any male can impregnate a female. It takes a man to be a father.