May
A Real Warrior
Who is a warrior? Heathenism has a warrior tradition. Who qualifies? The people who spend their time studying and developing ancient combat skills? Martial artists? Not in my book! Those people are re-enactors and sportsmen. They can make all the arguments they want about being warriors, but I will never accept them as such.
The warrior tradition has to be current to be genuine. The real warrior is someone who is in a position to go to war. He is a soldier, sailor, marine or airman. The real warrior is trained in the weapons and tactics of his time, for the combat of the day. Playing Viking may be fun, but it is unlikely that the re-enactors will face life-and-death combat in a real battle. Martial arts are a great sport, but their use is limited in modern warfare. The true warrior is the real thing, and that means military personnel. The day a person completes his basic training, he is a warrior. Even when his military service is complete, he retains his warrior status.
Our warrior tradition cannot come cheap. Re-enacting and sports are not acceptable substitutes for the real thing. The way to be a warrior in this day and age is to accept training in a genuine military organization. That is the definition for our times.
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What of the police? Are they warriors? Genuine police agencies would definitely qualify. These would include municipal, county, state, and federal police who are trained professionals. The same cannot be said for security guards and private investigators.
