Guardians of Necessity: The Ultimate Human Right and Obligation - Softcover

Barlow, Scott Hathway

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1630476021 ISBN 13: 9781630476021

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

You are alone and finishing up some shopping at the local mall when you hear a young woman scream for help. You notice that she’s surrounded by several men. Your mind begins the justification process: she is just playing; someone else will come to her aid. As you hesitate, the young woman is dragged into a van and they disappear.

Already late for a meeting, as you power walk toward your office you see a young boy crying and being dragged to a car. Your mind begins the justification process: the child is just being petulant; if it is really an issue, others will jump in to help the child. You hesitate and the boy is forced into the car, and they disappear.

You just arrive home from work exhausted and ready for supper. You see your elderly next-door neighbor, who lives alone, being verbally belittled by a worker he hired to do some type of chore. Your mind begins the justification process: it’s a dispute between them; I don’t know my neighbor well enough to intervene.

In each of these cases, would you be surprised to learn that the young woman was abducted and murdered, the young boy is still missing, and the elderly neighbor was just scammed of a significant portion of his life savings?

Most of us think we are not capable of rendering aid. If we do, we reason, we could be hurt, sued, or embarrassed because we misinterpreted the situation.

Guardians of Necessity recognizes the right of all humans to defend themselves and others against an attack. This right is in reality an obligation that carries an awesome responsibility. Within these pages the reader is taken through the history of this right, the legal and political climate surrounding this right, and the importance of preparing to exercise this ultimate right.

About this title

About the Author

Scott is a retired chief of police with thirty years of policing. He serves as the deputy director for the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy in Virginia, an adjunct instructor for Christopher Newport University, and director of weapons programming for R.A.D. Systems.

Scott has authored numerous articles on a variety of law enforcement topics and leadership. He has acted in an expert witness capacity in numerous court proceedings.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I have always felt that my desire to write a book was a bit presumptuous. The older I have become the more I come to understand that the vast majority of what I know has come from reading, while the remaining knowledge has come from personal experience. For this reason I continue to try my hand at writing in the hope that what little knowledge I may possess on this critical topic can be shared and considered a valuable expenditure of the reader’s time!

In my 30 plus years of serving in some type of law enforcement capacity I have continually been told by citizens, politicians, attorneys, and human resource folks of the importance of people’s rights. We always seem to hear that people have the right not to be abused or bothered by the police, the right to call 911 for any reason and expect police and fire to show up and solve their problems, the right to entitlements from government (from free housing to food stamps), and even have the right to a certain job position and/or promotion.
It is very hard to get too excited about these supposed rights after 30 years of seeing crime victims whose basic human rights were violated. In my black and white world I believe that there is only one “Ultimate Human Right”, which is the right of self-defense and the defense of others.

Others have written about “sheep” and “sheepdogs” and used the highly insulting term “sheeple”. There have always been and always will be sheep, and sheepdogs, those who need protecting and those willing to do the protecting. Frankly, this has little to do with the government appointing certain folks as sheepdogs and more to do with the inherent willingness to be a protector and prepare to do so successfully.

I trust that the reader already has a bit of this inherent DNA or you would not be interested in this manuscript. You, the reader, are a seeker of knowledge which is the first and most critical step in the preparation to exercise your “ultimate human right”. Or, perhaps you are reading this manuscript to scoff at this concept in order to dismiss the author as just one more 2nd Amendment advocate for anarchy and consider government inept.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I hold law enforcement in the highest esteem, but after being an officer for over 30 years I recognize the inherent shortcoming of the profession. Law enforcement is quite good at cleaning up after the fact, but not so much at the prevention of violent crime. My very simple message is that the “ultimate human right” is not only the only true right that we as humans have but that we are morally obligated to prepare and to exercise this right!

The 2nd Amendment is just one portion of this manuscript. Regardless of your belief in gun ownership, there clearly can be no argument against the ultimate human right of self-defense and the ultimate human obligation to defend others. I have certainly tried not to focus this entire manuscript on firearms, but as Justice Anthony Scalia put so clearly “the handgun is Americans' preferred weapon of self-defense in part because it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."

The ultimate human obligation of defending your neighbor does not stop after the incident of violence is over. The ultimate human obligation also means you provide emotional support after the fact, and if that means inserting yourself in an uncomfortable position so be it. We may not always be there to prevent the attack or the assault and exercise our ultimate human obligation but we can certainly be there after the fact and provide every bit of support we can, regardless of what personal sacrifice we may think we’re making.

As the reader progresses through this manuscript please ask yourself if what we are currently doing as a society to protect and advocate for our fellow humans is enough? I refer back to the adage “it takes a village to raise a child”. Regardless of if the reader believes this to be true, we can certainly agree that, “it takes a village to protect a child”. Let’s “turn the page” and move on to a new chapter where the ultimate human right and obligation becomes an important part of our everyday lives!

Is the term ultimate human obligation too strong? I think not! In a world where violence is so prevalent can we truly expect to stand by and allow predators to stalk, injure, and kill our fellow humans? In the era of the bystander with the cell phone video recording attack after attack and taking no action, this argument must be made.

I intend to make the case for a moral and ethical obligation for all of us to be “sheepdogs”, (protectors of our fellow humans). As the reader progresses through this chapter, the definition of being a protector will become clearer. Being a protector of our fellow human beings is not just the physical aspect of coming to a person’s aid when they are in need, it also involves sounding the alarm by calling for help, acting as a witness if called upon, and providing emotional support after the fact.

How strongly does the reader feel about our obligation to defend ourselves and others with all means necessary? Who is responsible for the defense? Should we just advocate for compliance in hopes that the violent criminal will not maim or kill their victim(s)? I am not making light of the complexity of these questions. I feel strongly that we have a moral obligation to defend ourselves and others in direct relation to our preparation and abilities. If we fail to prepare then we have failed in our moral obligation.

I am not an advocate for training children to be defenders. I am not referring to bullying, where the stakes are not nearly as high. There are totally differing tactics and techniques for dealing with the bully. I am speaking in reference to violent crimes. Theodore Beza is correct when he stated “Little ones cannot do so, and rely solely on those who bore them”.

The ultimate responsibility for self-defense rests with the adult. Educating children and providing age based and maturity based information is excellent. What I do not recommend is frightening children to the extent that they live their lives in constant fear. It is up to the adult parent to determine how much information they provide to their children and hopefully maintain a healthy balance.

It is quite clear to me that compliance does not guarantee safety for the victim and certainly not for future victims. It is also quite clear to me that compliance in some cases is an option, though I would prefer to use the term “tactical compliance”. Simply put, compliance though a choice based on the circumstances, should be switched to defending quickly and mercilessly if circumstances change and become more advantageous to the person under attack.

I am aware that there are many conflicting opinions for this theory but I reserve the right to choose the philosophy that best supports what I believe is a clear moral obligation of self-defense and defense of others. The historical perspective is overwhelmingly in support of not only the ultimate right, but the ultimate obligation as well. What should concern many of us is the lack of empathy that seems so prevalent in our current society. It seems incredible to me that so many will immediately begin recording a violent attack but will make no attempt to stop said attack by exercising their ultimate human obligation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1630476021
• ISBN 13: 9781630476021
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 140