What does "religion" have to do with safety and security? (please hear me out to the end of this editorial) Some years ago I would have probably said that it has very little to do with the promotion of safety or security. Today, after careful consideration, I now disagree with that assumption.

The right to practice one's belief in "God" (no matter what we call Him) is an important issue for our society here in the U.S. In fact, the very laws of this country, which were based upon God's Ten Commandments, as set forth in the Old Testament, guarantee us the right to practice our religion.

So what does this have to do with safety and security?

Ask any manager what kind of success rate that they would have if nobody set and followed a long- and short-term goal. Or, ask any military officer how successful a SpecOp would be if no one set the mission parameters before beginning the operation. In either case, there would be no way to gauge success or, just as important, there would be no way to know when the mission is over.

In a word, without goals and a mission statement there is no way for society to define where it is going or when it has reached any of its goals. Likewise, without a guide book, there is little to no chance for organized, planned success. Just as important, without a ruler to gauge our actions and considered actions by, we become as a ship without a rudder, unable to successfully maneuver the waters of life. Another comparison is the leaf on a tree that moves to and fro as the winds of life blow. You have only to look at our city streets or to our public school system to see the result of "no guide book."

I listened last evening to a young woman on the Lehrer's news report program. She commented that it was rather doubtful that the public viewed the President's alleged, assumed immorality as something that would have an impact on his ability to do his job. She said that since there is no way to "really" gauge what is or is not "moral," and since the people are divided on the issue anyway, that it is likely the public would not be concerned over it.

Well, I marveled at this statement for there "really" is a way to gauge morality, for this "quality" is not "really" relative, as some would have us believe. As stated before, the ruler society used for many years was that of the "Ten Commandments."

For those who are not familiar with the Ten Commandments, God instructs us to,

1. have no other gods but the one true God (no matter what word we use to refer to Him).
2. have and make no idols and do not bow down and worship anything or anyone other than the one, true God.
3. not misuse God's name [as in swearing] for He will not hold guiltless those who misuse His name.
4. to work six days and then rest the seventh day, which is called the "Sabbath."
5. honor mothers and fathers so we may live long in the land that God has given us.
6. not murder anyone.
7. not commit adultery.
8. not to steal.
9. not give false testimony.
10. not to covet others' goods, wives, etc. (Exodus 20:3-17)

Can we really separate "religion" from our everyday lives, as some tell us we must? We can, of course, but we cannot have our cake and eat it too. In my opinion, society cannot separate the two without causing some fundamental problems that, as we can easily see, has resulted in some serious consequences.

Allow me to ask you one question, if all of us were to follow the Ten Commandments and if a moment of silent prayer were again allowed in our public schools would we really be all that bad off? Let me take a wild guess ....

Best Regards,



Al Colombo

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