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The Range
Law & Order
We're not in Mayberry anymore, Toto - Letter from Priest to his Parish
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<blockquote data-quote="mugsy" data-source="post: 2738078" data-attributes="member: 18914"><p>Here's the text of Fr. Fride's letter to his parishioners - sent following some negative reaction to his Palm Sunday homily (sermon) urging parishioners to go armed. He also takes time to explain why he held a Concealed Pistol License class at the church and makes a very coherent argument about why personal pacifism can be a virtue but why pacifism has no place when others are dependent upon you for protection:</p><p></p><p></p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, MI (courtesy freep.com)</p><p> </p><p></p><p>We’re Not In Mayberry Anymore, Toto!</p><p></p><p>I have received some feedback from two events recently, one, the announcement I made at the 4:30 Mass on Palm Sunday concerning the CPL (Concealed Pistol License) class and some description of local threats, and the other, concerning the offering of a CPL class at the parish, co-sponsored by the parish. I’d like to respond to some concerns in the context of the broader issue of personal safety and reasonable protection in relation to the parish’s role.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Are We Still in Mayberry?</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>For those of you who do not get the allusion (the blessed ‘young’ among us), it is a bad mix of two entertainment references.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Mayberry was a fictitious, idyllic rural American city in which the public safety needs were met by a kind-hearted sheriff and a clueless but well-intentioned deputy. The only ‘threat’ to public safety was a bumbling, genial ne’er-do-well who was so accustomed to staying in jail that he had his own cell, which was never locked. The show, The Andy Griffith Show, was so popular that it had two spin offs, Mayberry RFD and Gomer Pyle, USMC.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>It was popular because it showed a kind of life that everybody wished were true, no threats, everything is fine, everybody’s perfectly safe, etc. There is no crisis that cannot be solved by hugs and Aunt Bea’s cooking. The “Toto” reference is to a famous line from The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy, who comes from a rural Kansas version of Mayberry, but suddenly finds herself in a dangerous environment of witches, deadly flying monkeys, (I still have nightmares about those wretched and heinous beasts!) and real threats to her life. She begins to comprehend this and says to her cute dog: “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>It is very common for Christians to simply assume that they live in Mayberry, trusting that because they know the Lord Jesus, everything will always be fine and nothing bad can happen to them and their families. Those who have followed the Lord Jesus for more than 20 minutes, however, have often experienced first-hand that the reality of living in a fallen universe can be very different.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>How to balance faith, reality, prudence, and trust is one of those critical questions that we struggle with all our lives. Pretending we are in Mayberry, while we are clearly not, can have very negative consequences for ourselves and those we love, especially those we have a responsibility to protect. If we are not in Mayberry, is there a real threat?</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Let’s be specific about what we are talking about: for our purposes, a threat is an awareness of a condition that could result in clear and present danger to our lives or our property. What is that condition?</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>In terms of our personal safety, and the safety of our homes, the situation is that approximately 50 years ago or so, the ratio of police to bad guys, i.e. criminals in the traditional sense, was more or less sufficient to reasonably control crime. However, in more recent years two regrettable factors have taken place. First, the amount of crime has substantially grown; second, due to budget cuts, there has been a significant reduction in the availability of an armed police response.</p><p></p><p> </p><p>End Part 1</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mugsy, post: 2738078, member: 18914"] Here's the text of Fr. Fride's letter to his parishioners - sent following some negative reaction to his Palm Sunday homily (sermon) urging parishioners to go armed. He also takes time to explain why he held a Concealed Pistol License class at the church and makes a very coherent argument about why personal pacifism can be a virtue but why pacifism has no place when others are dependent upon you for protection: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, MI (courtesy freep.com) We’re Not In Mayberry Anymore, Toto! I have received some feedback from two events recently, one, the announcement I made at the 4:30 Mass on Palm Sunday concerning the CPL (Concealed Pistol License) class and some description of local threats, and the other, concerning the offering of a CPL class at the parish, co-sponsored by the parish. I’d like to respond to some concerns in the context of the broader issue of personal safety and reasonable protection in relation to the parish’s role. Are We Still in Mayberry? For those of you who do not get the allusion (the blessed ‘young’ among us), it is a bad mix of two entertainment references. Mayberry was a fictitious, idyllic rural American city in which the public safety needs were met by a kind-hearted sheriff and a clueless but well-intentioned deputy. The only ‘threat’ to public safety was a bumbling, genial ne’er-do-well who was so accustomed to staying in jail that he had his own cell, which was never locked. The show, The Andy Griffith Show, was so popular that it had two spin offs, Mayberry RFD and Gomer Pyle, USMC. It was popular because it showed a kind of life that everybody wished were true, no threats, everything is fine, everybody’s perfectly safe, etc. There is no crisis that cannot be solved by hugs and Aunt Bea’s cooking. The “Toto” reference is to a famous line from The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy, who comes from a rural Kansas version of Mayberry, but suddenly finds herself in a dangerous environment of witches, deadly flying monkeys, (I still have nightmares about those wretched and heinous beasts!) and real threats to her life. She begins to comprehend this and says to her cute dog: “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!” It is very common for Christians to simply assume that they live in Mayberry, trusting that because they know the Lord Jesus, everything will always be fine and nothing bad can happen to them and their families. Those who have followed the Lord Jesus for more than 20 minutes, however, have often experienced first-hand that the reality of living in a fallen universe can be very different. How to balance faith, reality, prudence, and trust is one of those critical questions that we struggle with all our lives. Pretending we are in Mayberry, while we are clearly not, can have very negative consequences for ourselves and those we love, especially those we have a responsibility to protect. If we are not in Mayberry, is there a real threat? Let’s be specific about what we are talking about: for our purposes, a threat is an awareness of a condition that could result in clear and present danger to our lives or our property. What is that condition? In terms of our personal safety, and the safety of our homes, the situation is that approximately 50 years ago or so, the ratio of police to bad guys, i.e. criminals in the traditional sense, was more or less sufficient to reasonably control crime. However, in more recent years two regrettable factors have taken place. First, the amount of crime has substantially grown; second, due to budget cuts, there has been a significant reduction in the availability of an armed police response. End Part 1 [/QUOTE]
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