The Importance of Being Civil and Polite

The third element of the five SemperVerus components is BE, which emphasizes the importance of intentionally reinforcing rectitude in yourself. It’s stated thusly:

III. Be: developing rich personal leadership character of exemplary moral and ethical quality.

The 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant put it this way: “It is not necessary that while I live, I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live, I should live honorably.”

In his article, Why Politeness and Etiquette Matter, blogger Scott Monty references the handbook George Washington wrote when he was only a teenager titled, Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. Washington’s final rule is a guiding light for all of us, “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 10 Lessons From Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule ]

Monty’s list of reasons why being civil is vital to a life well lived is because it fuels:

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Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens

Here’s a simple way to prepare your mindset for the unexpected!

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Whether personal self-defense or serving on your church security team, anticipating potential threats is a crucial skill we must hone as rigorously as we sharpen our defensive shooting accuracy in the time we spend at the range.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

One way to accomplish this is with Decision Decks, five packs of cards—60 scenario cards per pack—to enhance situational awareness problem solving and decision making abilities, created by Simon Osamoh, founder and president of Kingswood Security Consulting and the Worship Security Academy, and former head of counter-terrorism at Mall of America, Minnesota, where he oversaw the internationally-recognized behavior threat assessment team.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Interview with Simon Osamoh of Kingswood Security Consulting ]

You already know about the benefits of dry-fire training in the comfort of your home; in the same manner, Decision Decks are pre-crisis mental workouts you can contemplate anywhere to sharpen your readiness.

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Senior US District Judge Rules California’s Ban on AR-15s to Be Unconstitutional

California’s ban on AR-15s and other so-called “assault weapons” violates the Second Amendment.

Senior United States District Court Judge Roger Benitez declared Oct. 19, 2023 that California’s law making it a crime to acquire and possess many common modern semi-automatic firearms violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, saying the state’s “’assault weapon’ prohibition has no historical pedigree and it is extreme.”

Here are excerpts from his astute and comprehensible 79-page ruling:

“The State says criminals already have and favor using guns described as ‘assault weapons.’ Rather than being outgunned, many citizens want these same firearms as a defense against criminal attacks. Americans today own 24.4 million modern rifles (i.e., AR-15 platform and AK-47 platform rifles), according to the State’s expert. Of the AR-15 rifle owners surveyed, 61% said one reason they acquired their gun is for home defense. Consequently, while criminals already have these modern semiautomatics, the State prohibits its citizens from buying and possessing the same guns for self-defense. At the same time these firearms are commonly possessed by law-abiding gun owners elsewhere across the country.”

“Guns for self-defense are needed a lot because crime happens a lot. A recent large-scale survey estimates that guns are needed defensively approximately 1,670,000 times a year. Another report, originally commissioned and long cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are between 500,000 and 3,000,000 defensive gun uses in the United States each year. That is a lot of situations where Jane Doe needs a firearm to defend herself and her family. Trial testimony from hoodlums is not needed to prove that a homeowner brandishing an AR-15 can be a strong deterrent to criminal attackers. But when brandishing does not stop an attack, Jane needs an effective defense. That is where an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle can come to the rescue.”

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September Marked the 50th Straight Month – 4 Years – of Firearm Sales Over 1 Million

September marked the 50th continuous month on record in which USA gun sales in the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS) exceeded 1 million firearms, according to estimates by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 20 Reasons to Concealed Carry a Defensive Firearm ]

The NSSF’s estimate is only a minimum, since it doesn’t factor in sales of multiple firearms during a single transaction and it doesn’t include sales in the 25 states that don’t require background checks for people who have qualified and been issued concealed carry permits.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 12 Reasons to Responsibly Carry a Defensive Gun Every Day ]

Results from a Rutgers University New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center study, released in late June, indicate the number of Americans who own guns could be as high as 60% of the USA adult population (155,531,710 people).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

An analysis by the Crime Prevention Research Center identified a total of 440 active shooter incidents during the years of 2014–2022 and found that a responsibly armed citizen stopped at least 157 of them, which is 35.7% of all incidents; in 2022 alone, it was at least 41.3%.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Nebraska Is Now the 27th USA State That Allows Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms ]

The above data support Wake Forest University sociology professor David Yamane’s conclusion that “guns are normal and normal people use guns.”

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of Self-Defense ]

Invite SemperVerus® to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

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