Fears are educated into us and can, if we wish, be educated out.. . Karl A. Menninger
Over the years having been involved with the so-called tactical community., I have noted that some
of my most heated debates revolved around tactics and religion. It turns out that many of those that
claim to be non-religious are in fact very religious. They are unknowingly, charter members of an
unseen, cultic church.

There are plenty of accepted mainline denominations as well as fringe elements. Outside of
traditional religion there are pro-lifers, pro-choicers, environmentalists, animal rights activists,
hunters, pro-family, feminists, gay rights advocates, left and right wing. Some groups stand directly
in the opposition of reason. Others muster large forces to protect their brand of political correctness
standing bravely together, for no other reason than they are afraid to be alone.

Without looking too hard, one should immediately observe that there is fierce group-based, warfare
waging around the globe. I recently had a good friend return from missionary work in Sudan.
His reports of what men are doing to men are hard to fathom. Men are willing to mutilate, cripple
and kill other men, women, and children with machetes (it saves bullets). What brings the human
being to the point where he or she is willing to inflict unspeakable pain and suffering upon others
without so much as a blink of an eye? With a bit of honesty, we conclude, the human species is
stubborn, determined to win at all costs, fearful and defensive by nature. We lash out at what we do
not understand. Mark Twain speaking of man said, .He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as
himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn’t straight.
Human beings simply group. Groups liberate or imprison, strengthen or destroy, evolve or constrain
those that are embodied in them. Once in the group, we generally strive to stay in., even to the
point of self-destruction.

The Worldwide Church of Tactical Concepts.
Reviewing the years of conversations with strong-minded tactical operators, similar patterns of
self-preservation/attack and defend, emerge. Discussions that move into the sacred and most holy
arena of tactical doctrine and combative concepts can quickly degenerate into verbal bedlam.
If the debate didn.t go ballistic, participants quickly grew silent and found sanctuary behind strong
castle walls of denial, alienation, and insecurity, walls that were built through years of self-induced
backbreaking, labor.
Attend any major trade show in this industry, surf the Internet, move through military circles,
listen to the priests of tactical theory and you will see the battle lines appear, guarded zealously by
loyalists to the cause. Each cult has its. own accepted denominational attire. Each stands with fellow
comrades to defend irrational thought and political correctness. Prophets of doom incessantly
preach damnation if their creed is not blindly followed and propagated.
They cry from their pulpits: .This stance! That stance! This technique! That technique!
This Equipment! That Equipment! Front Sight! No Sights! This Caliber! That Caliber!
Why do we listen? We just want to belong, we have to belong. This powerful craving is an
inescapable, primordial force that forges the human experience, magnificent and utterly appalling
all at the same time. We have an insatiable desire to hold the truth, have the answer, to .arrive..
Once we are .there. we will viciously, brutally and violently defend the new outpost.
Surveying the mental landscape, the same fundamental core drivers that unrighteously bring nation
against nation, man against man, the same intellectual processes that imprison mind, body and
spirit in cult-like fashion, will stunt potential for maximizing human performance in the tactical
environment of our own volition. Consider venturing outside the fortified prison walls of .rightness.
and choose to leave the carefully protected grounds. Grant yourself parole and leave the sanctuary
to intermingle with the lost. It.s time to leave Plato.s cave and see more than shadows.
We must take the blinders off and learn to see and fairly evaluate new ideas while simultaneously
grasping the ancient principles. We must check and re-check the construct.
Storms come and go so re-build while you have the opportunity.
Let.s stop skirmishing other over trivial, trite and unimportant minutia. Humility, flexibility, and
openness will reveal the core matters. .A noble but unattainable task. speaks the nay Sayers,
nevertheless let.s march on (sometimes stumbling) toward true mental freedom.
.None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
—Johann W. von Goethe (1749-1832)