Making Self Defence Relevant

I just watched one of the most eye opening, gut wrenching documentaries I could imagine. ‘I’ll Be Me’ chronicles Glen Campbell’s final tour after disclosing he had been diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. I cannot imagine facing such a fate, but being able to put that level of vulnerability out there for the whole world to see is something beyond comprehension for me.

In 2012, the US was spending $140 billion to treat Alzheimer’s patients. As the baby boomers age, that number is expected to rise to $600 billion which was the entire US defence budget. As US Congressman Edward Markey has said, where is the money better spent to protect the American people? Better healthcare or more bombers?

What is self defence? It literally is the defence of one’s person or interests but typically we associate it with defence against the use of physical force. Narrowing our definition of self defence in that way downplays where the real risk to our person and interests lay. Our health, our narrow-mindedness, our diets, our finances, our anger, our acceptance of mediocrity — all have a better chance of harming us than an actual physical assault.

“Often times I have hated self defence; if I were stronger I would not have used such a weapon.” - Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)