NO. 994 - CAN YOU SMELL THE COFFEE?

No. 994

Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN

CAN YOU SMELL THE COFFEE?

Several years ago my daughter Nanci and I were talking about her brother, who was doing some things we did not feel would be in his long-term best interests, and she came out with this: “He needs to wake up and smell the coffee.” Of course this saying has been around for countless years, but it’s not one that we hear too often. It means to get a grip, accept reality, and then take action that will produce desired results. This is what I thought about after a friend sent me some photos by e-mail a few days ago.
These photos were so gruesome that, because of my sensibilities, I would not share or pass them along. Unless you have been in a cave for the past several years, you know what has been taking place in Syria, Iraq, and other Muslim countries. I am talking about the actual beheading of large numbers of people because of political, religious or ideological reasons. No doubt you are familiar with the television program “Hollywood Squares,” which features celebrities arranged in a fashion like a checkerboard and a contestant in each square. One of the photos my friend sent me had this same appearance with photos of victims in each square. Now, you can understand why I would not pass them along.
While it is something I don’t like to talk about and it is something you don’t like to read, here is the reality of things in today’s world. The Islamic terrorists in this world will go to any length to achieve their goal of total domination and the whole world being under Sharia Law. There are far in excess of a billion Muslims in the world. I know without a doubt that the vast majority are peace loving and are not terrorists, and I don’t want to ever imply anything different. However, if only 10 percent of them are terrorists, you see what kind of numbers we are talking about.
My goal here is not to be an alarmist but rather to inform every person who will read this column that we face an enemy that is more barbaric, inhumane and totally dedicated to our destruction than any we have ever faced before. At this point you may ask, “What is the answer to this dilemma?” Granted, this is just my personal opinion, and I don’t have inside information, but my plan is to go on living my life in the most normal way I can. One of the goals of the terrorist is to strike fear in the hearts of our people and disrupt our way of life. They win if we allow them to do that.
May I remind you that in our system of government that we call a Democracy where the people rule, we have a constitution that sets forth the various duties of our elected representatives as to how they go about governing. The Preamble to the United States Constitution sets forth the primary responsibilities: We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, etc. We can stop there because it is clear that it is our government’s responsibility to protect us.
My primary reason for sharing this is to remind us that in the years ahead we must have a “strong” defense, and elect people to office who understand and will support a strong military. As individuals we must be vigilant and sensitive to any activity that poses a threat to any of our citizens. We must all be committed to work together to preserve our way of life for ourselves and for our children. To be sure, we can and will defeat this enemy who poses a very real threat, but we can’t afford to take him lightly. It is time for all of us to “Wake up and smell the coffee.”
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(Editor’s Note: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)