Protect what is most precious

During the month of October my family and I had a great opportunity to visit Rome, Italy. Walking through the streets of such an ancient city was phenomenal and it was an experience we will never forget. One of our greatest days was the day we toured the Vatican City. The whole experience was breathtaking and our tour guide made the experience unforgettable. The art work, monuments, halls, and the history in every corner of the city was incredible. Another aspect of the tour which got my attention was the security, as a former Security Specialist in the Air Force, and the walls surrounding the city. I came to find out these walls are 11 feet thick, 26 feet tall, and encircles the entire city. It is also a known fact, the Vatican City is the smallest sovereign government in the world (this will be an important fact in a second). As I walked around the inside of the city I started thinking of the following scenario. If I illegal snuck into the Vatican City, made it past the plethora of guards, the high walls, and decided to live in this “city-state” would they let me stay? Would their President allow me to live in Vatican City after I snuck in? Or would the Pontifical Swiss Guard remove me? I think we all know the answer. I would be sleeping back in my hotel that same night (which I am sure my wife and daughter would prefer). The Vatican has walls to protect the history, the priceless works of art, the Pope, and the population of the city. In my opinion, the great citizens of the Unites States are just as precious as their works of art. They are just as priceless as anything the Vatican has sitting in those grand halls. They are the most precious assets we have in our nation. So we must ask ourselves, why do people, organizations, city-states, or nations build walls? To protect what is most precious to them. So as the Vatican City has those great walls protecting what is precious to them, we too should have walls to protect what is most precious to our nation.