To the editor:

Consider those brave young men who felt compelled to defend the local military recruiting office (“Kansas reviews safety of recruiting centers,” Journal-World, July 23). No doubt evil-doers were dissuaded after seeing these shorts-sandals-sunglasses-baseball cap-clad defenders standing tall with their AR-15s. These patriots claimed that their “presence would send a message” and that they wanted “to let the bad guys know we’re not going to sit down and let them have their way with this country.”

As a veteran myself with a son serving today in Afghanistan, I’d suggest that if these young men were truly committed to protecting this country, perhaps they should join the military or the local police force. More importantly, while standing guard, one wonders if they have pondered over who exactly the “bad guys” really are. They might consider this quote from Nietzsche: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”