It should come as no surprise that people don’t always do the right thing; morality and decency are a lost commodity. For example, take the recent defamation lawsuit brought on by Jesse Ventura filed against former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, which continued against his estate after he was killed.
Losers Sue Syndrome
Obviously this strikes close to home; I can sit here and argue that the decent thing to do was to drop the lawsuit after Chris’ death, but obviously that didn’t happen and we’re all forced to live with the jury’s decision. I believe this strikes at the heart of a major wrong with our country these days. We are such a litigious society that it now seems the only way we can solve problems is to sue somebody. There’s this feeling of entitlement that’s rampant today. The bad news about all this is there are no winners, no one comes out on top.
True Colors
While I’ve never had to endure a legal battle like the one Taya Kyle had to, I recently had to deal with some shenanigans that allowed me to see the true colors of folks who choose to threaten you with a lawsuit over a disagreement. I don’t blame them per se, there’s a lawsuit filed in America every 2 seconds, believe it or not. That is roughly 15 million per year or one lawsuit per every 12 adults, if you want to look at it another way. America has become the most litigious country in the world and we continue to drive down that path with lawsuits such as these, or even the constant threats of a lawsuit that many of us face.
Frivolous Lawsuits
There are more small businesses put out of business, because they literally cannot afford to go to court. They may be completely in the right regarding the law, but the other party has deeper pockets and it becomes a war of attrition. This practice has been going on for way too long and it’s really a cancer in our country. I’m sure we all remember the McDonalds’s hot coffee case that helped pave the way for others to follow, but here are some others too. Is there a case to be made for noble causes, of course there is, but the problem is that those are few and far between. We’re producing twice as many lawyers as there are positions, so it’s a good bet we’ll continue to see frivolous lawsuits to pay for college loans. After all, they get paid whether they win or not.
What Can You Do About It?
Enough of the bad, let’s talk about some good. I disagree with the lawsuit from the word go, but like I said earlier, I can’t do anything about it or the verdict. People are decrying Ventura as a pig, non-human and all other kinds of derogatory names. That’s all fine and I happen to have a few choice words myself, but I’ll reserve those for a private session. The fact that the lawsuit has been picked up by just about every news network, can be used to help get the word out about how to help the Kyle family.
This publicity needs to be focused more on the family, putting aside the lawsuit and thinking about Taya and the kids; the struggles they face on a daily basis. We can all do something. If you’re pissed off enough about the verdict do something; donate to the Chris Kyle Memorial Trust, set up to directly benefit the Kyle and Littlefield families. No management or legal fees are associated with this trust, 100% of the funds go directly to the families.
With all the publicity that’s focused on the negative right now, this is one way we can use it in a positive manner. Which we should do, because that’s the decent thing to do. #LLTB
Editor-in-Chief’s Note: We’ve had a lot of requests come in to ITS about doing something like a patch to benefit Chris Kyle’s family, but with Jeff Gonzales’ help, we feel this article and directing these efforts towards the Chris Kyle Memorial Trust is a better option.
Jeff Gonzales was a decorated and respected US Navy SEAL, serving as an operator and trainer who participated in numerous combat operations throughout the world. He now uses his modern warfare expertise as President of Trident Concepts, LLC., a battle proven company specializing in weapons, tactics and techniques to meet the evolving threat. Bringing the same high-intensity mindset, operational success and lessons learned from NSW to their training programs, TRICON has been recognized as an industry leader by various federal, state and local units. Organizations interested in training with TRICON can call 928-925-7038 or visit tridentconcepts.com for more information.