My Life as a Right-Wing Extremist

[Editors Note: This article was originally posted at RaptureAlert.com on 4-16-09]

Extremism. I know a lot about it. More than I'd like to, quite frankly.

Two years ago this very day, near the precise time I'm typing these words, Seung Hi-Cho was making final preparations to begin the Virginia Tech massacre which I, a police officer on duty in Blacksburg that day, would soon respond to.

Cho, using a .22 caliber Walther P22 and a 9mm Glock 19, would shoot 60 people that morning, 32 of whom would end up dying in the worst mass shooting in United States history - a day I will never forget as long as I live. It wasn't the first time I'd been on duty and seen someone kill innocent people. Only a few months earlier, William Morva, an extremist of some variety, had gunned down a colleague of mine not two blocks from where I was sitting in roll call at the police department, prompting all of us to bolt to our cars before our briefing ended and rush to the scene, assault rifles in hand. Having done everything any of us could, we couldn't get there fast enough to save Deputy Eric Sutphin. Eric was Morva's second law enforcement officer killed, someone I felt a bond with as each of us had been shot in the line of duty before and survived.

Less than 24 hours before Eric was killed, we had stood not 100 yards from where Morva killed him and told one another to be careful. I'd told him how glad I was he was in the area with me at the time because we both understood how bad things could end up going - and they did.

Having read all this, imagine, if you can, just how upset I am today as I consider that my own government, particularly the Department of Homeland Security, views me as a potential right-wing extremist worthy of being kept an eye on. It makes me feel ill, quite frankly, especially in light of the role violent extremist types have played in my life. At 3:05 a.m. this morning, I was wide awake even though I was tired, just one of many pieces of luggage I carry around with me thanks to the kind of people the Department of Homeland Security thinks I may be.

The following is an excerpt from an Associated Press article that highlights this disturbing fact:

Department of Homeland Security officials have issued a report which links people with pro-life, anti-illegal immigration views, teachers of end-time prophecies, and veterans of war with "right-wing extremist" groups.

I seem to meet all the D.H.S. qualifications to be a right-wing extremist:

I'm definitely pro-life as a Christian. It's hard for me not to be in light of the fact the Bible tells me the Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood. (Proverbs 6:17)
I hold anti-illegal immigration views, primarily because, both as a good citizen and a retired law enforcement officer, I tend to frown on illegal things being condoned as acceptable. Shouldn't all of us who live in a society bound by the rule of law be against illegal things? Apparently not, based on the report. I meet the criteria again.
I am a teacher of end times Bible prophecy who runs a website read by thousands of people daily. I meet the criteria again in this category. I feel I'm probably pretty high on the list of potential right-wing extremists, along with all the desperados whose websites can be found on my site's LINKS page.
While I'm not a veteran of military warfare, I am a veteran of the United States Air Force with bullet scars upon my body who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder I got while performing the duties I obligated myself to the second time in my life I swore an oath to defend the United States, its citizens and the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. The P.T.S.D. probably elevates me a notch or two on Janet Napolitano's list of dangerous types, not to mention the fact I have weaponry in my home similar to that I was armed with during my military and law enforcement careers, those weapons playing such an important role in my life today that I haven't fired either of them (or any other firearm) since retiring from law enforcement in 2007. Some extremist I am, huh?

This is probably the worst day for me to be thinking about this, on the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, so I'm going to walk away from my keyboard for the rest of the day where addressing this issue is concerned, but before I go: It's moments like these when I, as a Christian who believes that the return of Jesus Christ is near, can't wait for that day to arrive so, in part, I can give poor Janet Napolitano and the Obama administration one less extremist threat to worry about, assuming the Lord should come for His Church before the president's term in office ends, which may or may not occur.

I don't know how many times per week I think of the Scriptures where we read that righteous Lot found himself "vexed" by what he saw going on around him prior to his deliverance from Sodom and Gomorrah, but it's more than a few to be sure. (2nd Peter 2:7-8) It gives me hope when I can find very little otherwise, quite frankly.

Luke 17:28-30: Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

If we are blessed, the Department of Homeland Security may be able to move on to more pressing matters of concern in the not-too-distant future - REAL issues worthy of being concerned about.

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