ENCOURAGEMENT 32 MARCH 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Behind are the long lines under the blistering sun, toting extensive documentation to share with consular officers. Also in the rear-view mirror are the concern and guilt over leaving country and family behind in favor of a better future. Now we were planted at our arranged destination with much work left to be done, learning a new culture, language and way of life. Not an easy task for an uneducated hard-working couple with a young son rebelling against this seismic shift. What lay ahead was much gut-wrenching change, tedious toil, misunderstandings, and constant learning experiences, all with the goal of becoming American citizens and providing the boy an opportunity for success not available back home. Reluctantly, I became the teacher/translator for my parents, who after living here as resident aliens for five years, were now eligible to apply for citizenship and leave behind the I-551, or "green card." This process, along with the civics classes in school, made me rethink my unwillingness to remain here; the forefathers truly put a system in place capable of not only withstanding but mostly thriving with the passage of time. Much different than the homeland, where elected leaders were mostly benign dictators, soon deposed by coups who would install military dominion for periods of time, until the "rule of law" returned, and elections and covert dictators were restored with military intervention to follow...and on and on. I then became a convert as a young teenager; I accepted this country as my home for it became evident that among many advantages, both reliability and protection were at the forefront of life in this nation. National security That was soon put to the test. The Florida Keys became the epicenter of the Cuban Missile Crisis with us sitting in the middle of it. JFK and his brother were assassinated, the Vietnam War heated up, protests, drugs and hippies became the norm, all capped by the Watergate saga. Where did the promised checks and balances studied in preparation for the citizenship tests go? The aura of protection was "taking a hit." In time, I took matters into my own hands, became a citizen myself, got an education and decided to personally participate in the security of the country by becoming a federal agent. For 32 years, I was part of the fabric that safeguarded us, and much to my disappointment it became obvious that the safety wall we claimed to have built was filled with "smoke and mirrors." Suffice to say that as I sat in my government office on September 11, 2001, the events that unfolded that tragic day were hardly a surprise to me; in fact, I marveled as to how long it took before our enemies drew advantage from our apathy and arrogance. We live in the greatest country ever established; take it from me, who came here unwillingly and remain unconditionally. But as a "foreigner," I am surprised at the false sense of security we convey as a state. If there is something I learned from working with the best intelligence organizations in the world, from the Israeli Mossad to our own CIA, is that it is extremely difficult to control the actions of an organization whose members willingly and gladly forfeit their lives for their cause. The hijacker pilots who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center learned their lessons well from the Japanese Kamikazes who intentionally crashed their planes into enemy ships during World War II. As a result, attention to detail, constant vigilance and honest appraisal of our capabilities are pivotal in keeping our adversaries contained. This constant is present in Israel, where the population is intensely aware that every citizen is responsible for the safety of their neighbor, and by extension, the nation. Internal threats Conversely, internal threats often present greater challenges, and King David's life is a testament to this. Keenly aware of the immaturity and lack of toughness of his son Solomon, he made arrangements to ensure the young king would not inherit the enemies of the departing one. Thus, Joab, Shimei, Adonijah and other inner untrustworthy operatives were exterminated to allow for the orderly transition of Solomon. King David learned his lesson the hard way, as his other son Absolom had conspired against him years before, usurped his throne and tried to kill him. And, of course, David himself became an internal threat to Uriah, his faithful soldier and husband of Bathsheba, whom the king had murdered as the result of the ongoing affair and pregnancy of the lady. The psalmist turned ruler became "the poster child" of internal threats as he diffused, suffered and created them during his 40-year reign. This hits close to home, for in 1956 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev warned that the USSR would take America without firing a shot for we would collapse from within; "we have met the enemy and the enemy is us." A security blanket Nothing known to man has afforded safety on this earth since Cain murdered his brother. However, God in his infinite wisdom has provided us a security blanket not available to the unbelieving world. Job, in the midst of his suffering, underscored that despite the dire circumstances he was undergoing "you will be secure because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety; you will lie down with no one to make you afraid." And Jesus Christ gave us the antidote for despair when he announced, "my peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives; do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." We have discussed going home, reliability, protection, checks and balances, constant vigilance and dying for a just cause, among others, all of which become null and void if approached carnally. Scripture, on the other hand, gives us a clear perspective that "we will one day be allowed to go Home." It reminds us "that our yes should be yes and our no...no"; that "no weapon fashioned against us will succeed; that there is no profit in selling one's soul; that we should be sober and vigilant, for the devil walks about like a roaring lion"; and lastly, that "God shall wipe away all our tears for there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain"; there we go, an eternal life guarantee!! Social Security Administration - Omar Aleman - Aleman and Associates
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