“It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it’ll shine out the clearer.”
- Samwise Gamgee
Oh Hell, I Can Fix That!
Many of the stories in this forum, as well as many other forums about Homeland Security, offer darkness and peril. Cybercrime, ISIS, School Shootings, oh my! How can we go on and live in a world with so many problems? The thought of terrorism in America causes great fear. And the media latches on to that fear and anxiety and intensifies it to a degree of instability and inaction. Can anyone say EBOLA? This anxiety causes people to think that they couldn’t possibly do anything about these horrible complex problems, so instead they tune out. Isn’t there a new app I can buy? What are the Kardashians doing today? Who are the Kardashians anyway and why do people care?
But behind the scenes, and beyond the fear, there are those who work in this field that do not live in fear. Instead, they look at these issues, examine them, and dig deep inside to determine the best way to combat the issue. They go to work in dingy offices, sometimes with little pay to award them for long hours, and never even contemplate their fifteen minutes of fame. Instead of seeing the darkness, they see the glimmering light, no matter how small, and say, “Oh hell, I can fix that.”
“Self-motivation is a wonderful thing to have in your arsenal, but sometimes we need that little guy behind us to push when we feel like stopping.”
And have you all noticed that it isn’t always the brightest, or the strongest, or the most popular person who solves the problems we face? It is the unknown guy in the corner cubicle, who steals your food at lunch, who pieced together a series of messages that led to a terrorist cell being found. Or it is the high school teacher who took the time to notice a student in distress before catastrophe occurred. It is often the little guy who was once invisible but recognized that inner power, raised their hand, and said, “Oh hell, I can fix that.”
“The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people.”
Even Hollywood understands this phenomenon. The greatest of stories involve impossible odds, and great terror, and an individual who defies the odds. They fix the unfixable problem. They invent penicillin, construct an airplane, or teach a blind and deaf woman to become a great orator. It is the strength of each individual. It is the determination not to live in fear. And it is the courage to stand up against those who would oppose us and tell us we cannot make a difference, and say, “Oh hell, I can fix that.”
The reason so many are able to do these things is that they believe in a world where good defeats evil and where impossible problems are possible. They do not listen to the nay-sayers. They don’t even listen to the thousands of realists who try to bring them back down to earth. In the field of Homeland Security, we need a few more of those who live in the clouds and believe in those things that do not yet exist. We need more people who can listen to a briefing, hear the horror stories, and be presented with an unsolvable problem and lean back and say, “Oh hell, I can fix that.”
“I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” — Samwise Gamgee
