CONTRAST

This whole week my heart and my brain have been dwelling on one question...  How long will it take for all of my country to wake up?   Most of the Peace Keepers at the doing the job level are awake.

How much does it take to prove that we are targets and the stalker is using every method possible from extreme deception to outright personal attack to bring this country down?  This is happening wherever our people are, whether at home, in the market place, on our highways or on foreign fields.    The murder rates in our large cities are atrocious...  The death rates on our highways are horrible...  The toll from Drunken Drivers alone is unbelievable...   We as a people are throwing away our lives and not seeing the causes because we do not want to see the causes...  Those causes point their fingers back to us, the people.  Those causes tell us we, as a people, have abdicated our responsibilities for pleasure and personal gain.  We do not see because we are too busy not learning and not doing what should be done.

Are we capable of continuing the American dream begun by our Founding Fathers?  Do our citizens even want to continue that American Dream?  How long will our citizens tolerate the many methods used by our elected leaders to bring about the the "change" that was touted so vocally during the political campaign?  I am asking questions that need answers and yet...  We cannot answer the questions.  It is as though our elected representatives have developed a deafness to our voices even when we contact them...  But as Peace Keepers sworn and dedicated to defend our country against destruction by all enemies foreign and domestic... We must raise our voices as well as carry out our duties.  If we do not perform these actions our beloved country cannot survive as we knew it yesterday and know it today.

What happened to us in this nation???  Political correctness happened...  Tolerance of anything and everything happened...  Education took a totally different course...  God was excommunicated from government, schools and public life...  Responsibility for self and community dissipated and drained away...  Personal integrity and honesty became unpopular to the situational ethics crowd...  Lack of love, loyalty and respect for our country happened...  Our pride in being Americans diminished in most lives or it never began...  We learned the old siren song of living for self above all other people and all other things including our country...  We multiplied but we shrank...  And commonsense seems to have died in the process.

I dwelt on the faces of the 13 slain Peace Keepers at Fort Hood...  Slain just because they were there and available to the shooter.  In those faces I saw a vast image of the citizens of my country...  Their names and their faces illustrate the tremendously wide variety of those who step out of civilian life and commit themselves to be Peace Keepers...  Both sexes...  A wide range of ages...  Large, small, young, older, female, male and every one of them a Peace Keeper.  They died because of who they were and because of where they were...  They represented the might and power of all of us and the sneaking enemy could not tolerate all of them nor all of us because we are so varied in our in our personal beliefs and personal lives, yet we are all American Peace Keepers who are committed to defending our nation and fighting for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for ourselves and for others who are oppressed for as long as we have breath and life or until the victory is won...  And we had a Muslim, one of our own officer/soldiers, shouting in the name of his god and shooting other soldiers on a state-side military base with the intent to kill as many of them as possible...

And we are told, "Don't jump to conclusions..."

Religious Zealots cannot fathom that there is any kind of good life outside of their own knowledge and experience.  From birth this particular type of zealot learns only what his teachers want him to know.  A very wise Priest once said, "Give me a child until the age of six and I do not care what you do with him after that."  He knew what all radical zealots know...  What you inculcate into a child when he is young will stay with that child for as long as that child lives. 

I know that because I have lived that.  I was born and reared in poverty but with parents who taught hard and pointed lessons...  Lessons that I never will forget...  With those lessons of discipline, I was also taught good manners, respect, honesty and integrity...    And I was taught to think for myself instead of being brain washed with just one view.  I learned self-reliance and how to survive and take care of myself.  Love of country and respect for our flag was taught to me in my public school...  Education taught us to retain knowledge and principles;  taught us to apply that knowledge and those principles to get workable conclusions and results as we worked and needed to solve problems;  taught us our own language so well that we could write and communicate if we needed to or wanted to;  taught us that reading was the source of all knowledge and how to do research on the things we wanted to learn after we received that basic education;  taught us about God and the Bible so that we could know what was the basic knowledge there for us if we wanted to pursue it (my first influence to want to know the God of the Bible came through a program presented in my public school when I was in 2nd grade);  and taught us how to be good and useful citizens.

My father was drafted into the Army as a Peace Keeper in WW2.  I lived without him for those years he was away.  I was six years old when he returned.  When he came home, he was not the man who had left us...  He was more harsh, very quiet, more difficult to live with and he drank alcohol to excess every weekend, except when we were at his father's home (he respected his father more than anything on this earth), to kill something he never wanted us to know about.  It took me years into my adult life to come to know this and understand why he drank...  And what he was trying to drown with the alcohol and the efforts to numb his mind.  Today we call it PTSD.  I had to serve as a Peace Keeper myself, become a Christian, learn some very valuable information and resources and then do a self-education study on the reasons for consuming the alcohol and the affects of the alcohol upon the human body and human mind..  And I had to learn what was on his mind. ..  But I also had to learn how to deal with it!!!

Of course this was all too late for him...  He had committed suicide when I first became a Peace Keeper years before I could find, absorb and put the information to use...  I was sent home from Basic School to handle the problem caused by his suicide, clean up the room in his boarding house, arrange for the funeral and support my mother in her grief.  It was devastating for his family who, to this day, still do not understand.  It took a lot of learning, education and mind searching to come to the causes that ate at him and drove him.  The only time he was happy and fun-loving was when he was under the influence enough to feel it but not drunk enough to hinder him or make him pass out.  He tried for a long time to maintain that condition when he was on days off from work but the sneaking, addictive affects of the alcohol began to demand more and more consumption to even try to reach his happy place that he became a man no one could live with and he could not stand to be alone. 

My learning who he was and what drove him was part of the education I had to gain in order to be a really effective Peace Keeper...  The education came through my studies and my spiritual awakening, both of which contributed to my understanding.  Before I reached that understanding I was zealous against drunks because of Dad...  After that understanding I could still be zealous against drunks but there was no residual affects from my life with Dad and I could treat them fairly without feeling the emotion and the prejudice I had before.  I even learned how to minister to drunks but that is another story.

No man has ever been more of a perfectionist than I have been...  But I learned that could kill me.  No man has ever been more prejudiced than I was taught to be...  But I learned that made me so much less effective as a Peace Keeper that I had to learn what was wrong and correct it.  From my earliest memories I know that I have always had the ability to give myself totally into whatever was my interest at the moment.  I could shut out everything and everyone if I needed to do it in order to accomplish my goals.  I know now that learning all I could about Peace Keepers was my earliest continuous goal.  It eventually overshadowed all other goals and interests and subsequently led me to my search for spiritual Truth and my spiritual new birth which ultimately brought me to being a better Peace Keeper and an effective Chaplain.

Spiritual new birth drew me into a whole new education by the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who gave me new birth, and He taught me a whole different way of living than I ever knew was available to the human race.  Some of what I previously knew was alright to keep...  Some had to be forgotten and discarded...  Some had to be torn out by the roots...  Some had to be adjusted...  Some of this education was totally new to me because I had never heard it from anyone in my life before.  The old me had to be totally discarded.  I had to be built as a new man.

It is one of the terrible things of our time that this good news has never been brought to the attention of every living person.  We were told to give it to the whole world but the people He committed it to have not done well at accomplishing the dissemination of the good news.  The misconception here is that most people think I am talking about religion.  Religion is what man does for God.  Christianity is what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.

I am NOT talking about religion but I am talking about a whole new life that we never had before...  Not making changes, but learning a whole new way of living that is so much more effective than the old way most of us learned that it is unbelievable to most who have heard of it in it's Truth and simplicity.  I always knew it had to be available...  If there is a God, IT HAS TO BE AVAILABLE!!!  I searched for twenty years before I found a man who knew the simple Truth.  That day my old man died and I was spiritually born into a new and different life.  My family can tell you about the difference between the old man and the man I am now...

I was called to be a Peace Keeper before this change took place...  Miraculously received a physical adjustment to my vision so I could pass the exam...  Worked hard for five years to make changes and make a difference in my world for the better...  Found that my efforts were not making any long lasting affectation upon my world...  After much thought and many disappointments in conversations with those who should have been able to answer my questions, I set out upon my own search and found the man I had previously known who was as far from being religious as any man could be...   He was no longer as he was when I previously knew him...  He was a new and different man. 

I asked my questions, He gave me answers that I could understand and use...  And I became a new man as I put his answers to use...  A new man who had to learn all over again what was right to keep and what was wrong that had to be discarded and had to be replaced with the right that I needed.  After the reformation was well underway I was put back into peace keeping as an officer and as a chaplain.  After 29 years here as an officer they made me retire because of age...  Too old the rules said...  I still serve as a chaplain with the position of Administrative Chaplain responsible for the day-today operation of the program consisting of 25 personnel...  And as a Traffic Safety Officer (Community Service Officer) whenever my daughter is healed and I am ever able to get back to it.

I am a zealot for what I know and believe...  I believe in law so it was my duty as a Peace Keeper to enforce law and keep the peace...  The difference with me as a Chaplain and a Christian is that I understand that it is not my job to force people to change to my way of thinking and believing...  My job is to tell the ones who will listen that it is available if they want it...  And to train, or see to the training of, those who decide they want it...  No force...  Just presentation, answering questions and living as an example to anyone who wants to look and watch...   And to allow those who do not want it to reject it and walk away.

Yet, even right now, or at a mere moment's notice, I could be a quickly responding Peace Keeper...  Ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done to preserve Life, Liberty and the Right to the Pursuit of Happiness...  Make every effort to stop destruction, restore peace and maintain peace...  And I could do all of this without using any force unless the person who needs to be controlled insists that he does not want to submit to law and allow the peace to be restored...  Then I am still capable to do all of whatever it takes to restore and maintain the peace without fear, favor or prejudice as I swore to do...  But, alas, I must now leave all of that to the younger ones and accept that I have a different course mandated by that same law I have always respected and believed in.  My course now is one of supporting the Peace Keeper and I am as good at that as I was at being a Peace Keeper myself even if they need hands on assistance.

Do I want everyone to know by experience what I now know by experience?  Yes!!!  Emphatically, YES!!!...  But I can present what I know and allow the other person to make his own choice.  If he rejects the information and the opportunity, I honor his choice and present it to him, personally, no more unless he asks me to do so.  That is his right and I honor it.  If he decides to receive the information and act upon it I commit myself to teaching and being as available as possible to lead by information and example...  I will teach him the information received from Christ and walk with him for as long as it takes to help him absorb and apply the information even if it takes years...  But NO FORCE!!!  I will make sure he is thoroughly familiar with the Handbook for Living (the Bible)...  And he is free to walk away if he decides to do so.

I train Disciples the same way I trained Peace Keepers...  For success and for survival.

My God tells me to serve all people and meet their needs as best I am able.  I do the best I can with those who are in my world to teach them to live and be prosperous.  If they do not agree with me I do not want to kill them.  I will love them if they allow me to love them and leave them alone if that be their desire.

The Zealot at Fort Hood killed the victims because he could not force any change in them nor in the military system he had committed himself to being part of.

I have served in a military based chain-of-command since I was 22 years old.  It is a closed system.  It requires the following of lawful orders.  I must know the difference between lawful orders and not lawful orders.  That system has the right to order me to serve any place they desire me to serve if I have contracted with them to be part of the system.  I have obeyed many orders that I did not particularly like because they were lawful orders.

My destiny and the destiny of Major Hasan crossed this past week when he fired upon my fellow Peace Keepers.  I want them to live and be successful...  He wanted them to die because he could not force change... 

I had to present this contrast so that the reader might be able to see the Truth of what is afoot in our world...  My God offers forgiveness of the past and new life in exchange for the old life that did not work for you  if you want new life and are willing to learn and follow instructions...  If you do not want it, you are free to continue on your way as you choose.  The zealot Hasan's god demands change and submit to his orders or death if you do not submit to his orders. 

Which God would you follow?  His...  Or mine...  Or NONE???

Now, I thank every Peace Keeper for all of your service from the newest to the oldest, from the recruit to the retiree, all of you and each of you.  I love you because you make life, as we know it, possible every day and our Compadre's have been doing that for over two hundred years for this nation during it's founding and since it's inception.  There is no more valuable group of people in our society than you...  The rest of our people would not have what they have if not for you and your predecessors being in your places performing your duties.  You are the foundation stones... The blocks upon which all we have is built...  You are also the glue that holds it all together...  Many like you were fighting for my future as I was born and grew...  Then I took my place in the line among my cohorts until June 30, 2005 when I was no longer allowed to actively serve as a Peace Keeper with you but now still serve as a Chaplain and subsequently as a Community Service Officer to support you in all of your efforts.

Eight years ago a wise man asked me to write a weekly message to and for Peace Keepers for his weekly, electronic magazine...  Eight years... That's 436 messages ago...  And I have enjoyed every effort that I have made.  In the process I have gained friends and met thousands of Peace Keepers from all over the world including foreign battlefields and every part of the USA.  I am a very rich man in these many experiences with you and for you.  I may not have many dollars in my hands but I am a very rich man in the things that count.  I am a Citizen of the Kingdom of God; a citizen of the United States of America; a Retired Peace Keeper; a Chaplain; a Traffic Safety Officer; a father; a Widower who spent 44 beautiful years with the finest, loving Redheaded Lady;...  And above all I am a man who is at peace.  I owe all of this to my Eternal Captain and to you and your Predecessors in peace keeping.  My Commander-In-Chief and I are eternally grateful that you all have been there and are presently still here.  THANK YOU...  THANK YOU...  THANK YOU!!!
"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others. See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of you.  Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful.

Call or write if I may be of any service... Or if you just want to encourage me... Feedback encourages all who write... It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message.

We have had three days and nights of high winds up to 75 MPH, high tides equal to the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 and worse than our last hurricane, drenching rain, power outages and some death and destruction along with terrible flooding.  It is tough to be without lights and heat in such weather but we have survived.  My daughter is still in the hospital and supposed to come home tomorrow (Saturday).  She had to stay because the storm kept the wound vac she needs in order to come home from getting to her. 
When she gets home, we begin another regimen with a new, large open wound to see if we can get it to close small enough to graft it like we did the last one.  Unless we receive a miracle, it will be another long siege.  Please keep us in your prayers.

As it has always been... So it still is!!!  It is the Peace Keeper who has won our rights and it is the Peace Keeper who keeps those rights secure...  All of my freedom was won by someone else!!!...  But it is my obligation to my Predecessors to do all I can to keep it and pass it on to those who come after me...

"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN."  Sun tzu

Training and practice are everything!
Without them, the best results are not obtained!

ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]

I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
For God, Country and the Peace Keeper...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept.,
Senior Chaplain and Administrative Chaplain VBPD,
DCJS Certified Police Instructor,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety) VBPD
Blackwater Alumni
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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