Remember these headlines, “Letterman Regrets Telling Jokes About Palin's Daughter,” “Governor Regrets Remarks on Race,” and, more recently, “Van Jones Steps Down.” Jones had to resign because he suggested “… a government role in the Sept. 11 attacks and [made] derogatory comments about Republicans.” Jones said, “If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize.” Not much of an apology, if you ask me. The “if” always ruins it.

In three decades of ministry, I have heard many regrets: Regrets about how people reared their children, regrets about putting career above marriage, regrets about losing ones temper, regrets about espousing the wrong priorities, and regrets about neglecting a loved one who has since passed on. But then there are regrets about events that were neither choices nor habits, but unforeseen calamities. Disaster suddenly surfaced like Godzilla ascending from the ocean depths.

The phone shocks us with a dreaded message: A friend or relation was killed or seriously injured in a car accident! We cannot help but think, “If that person had only left five minutes later, he would still be alive!” But have you ever considered the reverse? How many problems and disasters have we nearly avoided? How many times would disaster have found us if we left five minutes earlier?

With the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11th just passed, it is tempting for us to ask how that nightmare of 2001 could have been thwarted. Yet it is likely that many other disasters – perhaps some on a larger scale – have been thwarted by our sharpened and vigilant intelligence.

We may have thought, “What if someone was on top of the Columbine shooters and prevented that horrible day?” Yet we do not generally celebrate the heroes who do just that. Often, we do not hear about those ounces of prevention that we prefer to pounds of cure. And when we do, we barely take note.

On Aug. 25, in San Mateo, Calif., teacher Ken Santana tackled a former student who had set off two pipe bombs; he had planned to set off the other 10 bombs he had brought to school. In addition to the bombs, he had a sword and chain saw. Somehow, no one was killed. According to World Magazine, “… authorities say Santana likely prevented a massacre.”

As a result of Columbine and Sept. 11th, school authorities take security more seriously than they once had. Who knows how many similar incidents have been nipped in the bud? Authorities are prone to keep such matters “hush” in the name of public confidence.

Although many Americans tout a long list of criticisms aimed at the George W. Bush administration, it has been quite remarkable that we have not suffered any further terrorist attacks since 9/11. Although President Obama has reversed some Bush-era security measures, the truth is that none of us are privy as to what has and is really happening behind the scenes. Perhaps security is looser; perhaps it is simply different. We commoners cannot really know.

When Dwight D. Eisenhower was at our nation’s helm, he went to great pains to give the impression that his presidency was about playing golf. In reality, Eisenhower was a workhorse strategist who constructed our Cold War defenses.

President Ronald Reagan advertised a “Strategic Defense Initiative” dubbed “Star Wars.” The president announced that American scientists were nearing the development of a futuristic ray gun; this ray could then destroy traveling missiles en route. The giant ray cannons would be hosted in satellite space stations revolving the earth. The whole “initiative” was a farce to send the Soviets into a desperate panic and bankrupt their defense budget. It succeeded, and contributed toward the downfall of the USSR.

The bottom line is that we do not know what we do not know. But perceptive Americans might consider the possibility that our safety is not always a mere coincidence. We take our hats off to those unsung heroes who remain nameless.

• Ed Vasicek is pastor of Highland Park Church and a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune.