I find myself sitting watching cable or reading various news agencies on the net and getting a feeling of unease building in my soul. I see the core values of our nation – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – attacked daily by our newly re-elected administration, a Senate with a majority of Democrats and by a broad range of Democrat members of the House as well. I heard our President speak during his re-election campaign of “voting being the best revenge” – that his re-election would be a way for his supporters to take their revenge on those opposed to him. I have listened over and over and over to those folks that pay well over 70% of all taxes paid being called out for their unwillingness to pay their fair share. And I found it all disheartening.
I cannot even fully describe my heartbreak at the evil that roamed the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary as it slaughtered the innocents found there. And yet, before the children and their teachers could be held by their loved ones a final time, before their bodies could be laid to rest, before their souls could be greeted by a loving God – their deaths were used by the same administration, by the same Democrats in the Senate and the House that cried for “revenge” during the election as justification for draconian advances to an already draconian set of gun laws. While the words say these efforts are “for the children”, they truly benefit a government that seems hell bent in imposing a Marxist/National Socialist government on a people that have been ruled for over 200 years as a Constitutional Republic. It would appear that President Obama’s promise to radically change the direction of our country continues.
Under all of this ebb and flow of our nation’s political life, I have noticed an unsettling trend that began in the 60s and that only seems to be accelerating today – I seem to becoming an “enemy” of the state. (Didn’t they make a couple of movies about that??)
I was born in 1950 – to a father that was 16 years older than my mother, to a nation recovering from WWII and about to enter a new war in Korea and with future wars over a horizon not yet imagined. I was raised in a home where there were no televisions until I was six. My first show – on a black and white TV – was the “Lone Ranger”. And that was how the majority of America viewed things – Black or White, Good or Evil, Right or Wrong. Hillary Clinton is fond of the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” – I lived that. If I behaved badly the nearest adult “set me straight” – sometimes with a word, sometimes with an open palm. My mom was then notified and I received “further adjustment” when I returned home. That same community also loved me, guided me, and demonstrated what loving families looked like, the benefits of a religious life and what it took to provide a solid education. Black or White, Good or Evil, Right or Wrong – clarity.
By the late 60s many or our wheels began to come off. Hippies, flower children, “sex, drugs, rock and roll” – began to take its toll. Vietnam was raging and bodies were needed. Honestly, it never occurred to me not to enlist in the military. My uncles had served – I saw it as a duty for any citizen – I enlisted. And . . . . during the course of the next few years . . . . had my first experience with being an enemy . . . . both of the Viet Cong and NVA but also of a rising American citizenry that viewed the war with distain and defined each of us as “baby killers”. While I was fortunate enough to return home to a loving family and friends who genuinely welcomed me – far too many were not so lucky. They were met with bags of urine and feces as they returned to “the world” and deplaned. Protests raged across the nation – many lead by our prospective Secretary of State, John Kerry. While I settled into my routine at Ahn Khe – then war protestor Kerry held his Winter Soldier event confirming the worst – I was indeed a baby killer, prone to randomly firing into civilians and killing all in my path. As he clutched his fake awards and pitched them over the fence in front of the White House, my status as an “enemy” of America became more entrenched and defined. Vietnam Vets hunkered down, shrunk our footprint and did our best to remain invisible lest shouts of “baby killer” yet again ring in our ears.
The dream of a Marxist/National Socialist nation was continually pushed over the proceeding decades – for the children, for the poor, for the disadvantaged, for the forgotten . . . . and a nation that prided itself in the 50s for self-reliance, strong community and strong family rapidly morphed into society dependent on government grants, government assistance, government food, government regulation, government housing, government education, government protection . . . . and again I was seen as an “enemy” because I spoke out against the degradation of the American citizen, of our countryman’s ability to stand on their own two feet. I was called uncaring, insensitive, unloving, out of touch, racist, sexist, homophobic . . . . . and still the pace of conversation to a Marxist/National Socialist nation accelerates . . . .
Fast forward to today – to a nation with 15% plus unemployment, fully half our citizens pay no federal taxes, where an individual can collect more income from the government by sitting in front of a LCD flat panel, paid for by government money, in a government funded apartment eating food purchased by a government provided welfare check holding a newborn paid for by government healthcare and collect more money than a newly minted school teacher. This same constituency then cries that “rich people” who pay nearly 70% of all taxes collected are not paying their “fair share” And I see that yet again . . . . I am an enemy of the American people. Because I have worked hard, educated myself, began a company and have a firm belief that money earned actually belongs to . . . well . . . me. And still it continues . . . .
To Sandy Hook and the deaths of 20 beautiful children and their 6 teachers . . . .
And to where I stand today . . . .
I do not trust this government. They – AND I DO MEAN ALL OF THEM – have buried the country I love and the children and grandchildren I love in under a mountain of debt that seems to show no sign of slowing. They are currently in the midst of the largest US disarmament process in our nation’s history – we will soon be weaker than pre-World War I. They continue to intrude into areas our founders never meant for them to be – healthcare, family configurations, marriage, bedrooms, hospitals, schools – the list is nearly endless. Their level of intrusion verges on tyranny – where all work done is simply for the benefit of the state. It is slavery by every definition imaginable. And . . . . again I find I am an “enemy” of the American people because I resist these policies, I speak against them, I campaign against them and am told how “out of touch” , how uncaring I am, that I am simply racist. I’m one of those “right wingers” because I place the dignity of an individual over the welfare of the state.
Still, the Founders enumerated a core of 10 rights given to every human by God – not the state. They are clearly listed in our Bill or Rights. The first was freedom of speech and the right to worship the God of our choice. The second was the right to personal defense. We, as humans, were given that right by God – NOT the government. The founders also understood that the greatest threat to that freedom was the government that they were founding – and the Constitution was our road map to keep us on the “straight and narrow”. Should the wheels come completely off – the 2nd Amendment provided a means for the populace to correct that problem.
Nations without this basic right to personal defense have suffered greatly and their toll can be seen in the tens of millions of citizens killed by Germany, China, Russia, Uganda, Rwanda, Iraq, Iran, North Korea – slaughtered in the name of the advancement of the state and the state’s defense against “enemies” . . . . .
Which brings us to today – and the current debate about gun control. Our current administration and many Democrats in both the House and the Senate seem to be licking their chops in anticipation of finally being able to pass legislation so they can “get the guns” to make us all “safe” . . . . . just as the children of Sandy Hook were made safe from a mentally ill attacker by a sign, just as Gabby Giffords was made safe by a state refusing to lock up her attacker for mental issues because he had not committed a crime, just as the sign on the door the theaters in Aurora did not protect the movie goers from yet another mentally ill attacker. Our safety has nothing to do with this new push to “get the guns” . . . . it has everything to do with control.
I stare in true shock as my state’s “paper of record” prints an opinion piece calling for the declaration of the NRA – the nations very first conservation group, the group that trains most of our nation’s shooters and law enforcement – as being a terrorist organization and calling for the murder (yes, they called for the murder) of its members. I see this group, whose primary goal in life is to give shooters the “knowledge, skills and attitude necessary to safely handle their firearm” derided as the root of all gun evil. This is an organization I belong to and am a trainer for.
And . . . . again I find myself an “enemy”. This time though, in the event prospective laws being bantered about are actually passed . . . . for the first time I will truly be an “enemy of the state” for I will NOT submit to them. I am saddened to find this even on the horizon – I spent 21 years in the military defending my country and the Constitution, 30 years building a business, 35 years raising a family and 46 years with the woman I love. I have guided Boy Scouts, watched Eagle Scouts become officers in both the Army and Air Force, others become Rangers and good old grunts. I have attended church throughout my life and mentored new parishioners in their desire to become Catholics. I have lead conservation groups, shared wild places with folks who have never been out of their back yards. And, I have shared my passion for firearms with hundreds – helping to train them to be safe shooters, skilled in the use of their personal firearm. I have given them the skills necessary to defend themselves, their families and their friends.
And . . . . again . . . . I seem to be but a couple of votes and a signature away from being an official “enemy of the state”.
I’ve done what I could – called my Senators, called my Representative, talked to my state Senator and Representative, supported the NRA and state groups, written articles, posted on my blog . . . . . simply one small part of those that support the 2nd Amendment’s God given right for all people . . . .
I have fought true enemies . . . . . I remember the fear, the sounds, the chaos . . . . I remember the basics – good or evil, right or wrong . . . . I remember what it is like to commit 100% in an instant to defeat evil.
There are millions that share my views, that share my commitment . . . . .
I pray the reason and good sense prevail in this debate . . . .
. . . . you do not want me as your enemy.
