Burning Men

So the fires are out now, and people are breathing a sigh of relief and fresh air after a long week of smokey skies. Here is a picture of one of the fires bearing down on San Diego. All told there was a couple dozen fires, some big, some not so big, some deadly, some destructive. There were 10 deaths, and 1,500 homes completely destroyed.

I didn't think much of the disaster myself untill the fires at Camp Pendelton came within 4 miles of my house. A fire that had burned 32 square miles was just 4 more miles from making me and a thousand others homeless. It really made me realize the magnitude of this disaster. It is a natural disaster because it was fueled by the strong Santa Ana winds, but the worst part is that alot of these fires were started by people, intentionally. I don't quite get what would cause a man to commit arson, and arson seems like too light a word for this crime. Its not just starting a fire. It's robbing people's entire livelihood, and sometimes their entire lives. And all so you can feel powerful?

There was one suspected arsonist that was caught in the act, and when he tried to ram the squad car to get away the policeman shot one shot into the vehicle, and it hit the suspect in the head, killing him. Some have criticized the use of force, but I applaud the policeman for not being afraid to act quickly and fiercely against this crime. It is as serious as murder. There is a $150,000 reward out to catch these cowards, and I pray that they are all brought to justice.

I've been thinking about this since the fires started, about what drives a man to commit arson. And I say a man for a reason. I read online that only 12% of arsonists are female. So this is pretty much a male malfunction. I believe that it has to do with a man not feeling like a man. When a man does not feel manly in his life he will find other ways to fufill that need, because men need to feel manly. The problem is that this is not manly, and it makes them feel manly because they feel strangely good when that power to have the capability to destroy wells up in them and they feel even better when they release it. They have gotten their wires crossed somewhere along the way, and have not figured out how to feel manly by being a strong valuable man in community with others. They have either forgotten or were never taught how to be a man who walks through life with purpose and passion.

The real men here are the firemen, and the firewomen are heroes the same. I'm in awe at their willingness to go in and battle these beasts for us, and most of us don't even realize the effort and risk that they are putting forth. They literally fought for days on end without stopping and without relief, and in doing so saved many lives and countless houses and business. Thank God for the firemen.

Here's a few pics I took of the smoke around my house in San Clemente: