Hope and Change

Was John Ross Right?

If you are old enough to remember you will recall these words from a famous daytime soap opera “as with the sands through the hour glass so goes the days of our lives.” The days of our lives, since the inauguration of the new United States President, there are at count 10 new restrictive firearms bills being introduced in the U.S House of Representatives, mainly HR 45. Being an observer of the events around me, I once again ask myself why is this? Didn’t the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor of the individual’s right, as stated in the Bill of Rights, to own firearms recently?

I did not vote for the current administration, but I followed the campaign rhetoric closely. I will not belabor the point of immediate broken promises, out of control debt obligations for generations and ignored assurances of their intent to not limit, control or ultimately undermine the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. The administration’s rapid actions speak for themselves. The administration is quick to point out that they won the election; they did win, by a 53-percentile margin. Ok, so what about the rest of us?

What is it that a free people should do, we have petitioned our government with our grievances. We have supported our just causes and yet they fail to act or even it would seem to hear our collective voice. Their assertion is all they must do to effect their change is to never give up, to drown the populace in more legislative control, more social governance and without our knowledge or consent render us enslaved. They are doing this through taxation at every level, obligating us to overwhelming national debt and in acting legislation against our will to strip us of our inalienable rights.

Why is it so apparent that there is an onslaught by the elected officials to disavow our desires, our way of life and the core promise from our founding father’s belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the manner we chose and not ones dictated to us from academia and the people in Washington? Where is the representative form of government when those elected to represent us become so entrenched in the Washington political culture that they spend their time furthering political careers instead of doing the people’s business? One could only hope instead of encumbering us further, they would spend their time working for us not against us and in so doing be accountable to the American people. Could this obfuscation of their responsibility and lack of accountability have been their intention all along, one might wonder?

“Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road, which will eventually lead to communism.” Karl Marx, Das Kapital, 1867

This statement has a very sobering message when viewed through objective eyes of one evaluating the events unfolding in the news today. I placed this quote in here for you to give consideration of our current state of affairs. Is this the “Hope and Change” message we have been sold so eloquently; is this the real change on our nation’s horizon?

What about the “Joe the plumbers” the “Sam the gas plant operator” and all the rest of you that do not except “hope and change” as a blanket assurance that we will remain free to live life as we so desire. These hope and change promises fed to us from every source, what does it mean for you and your families? Will this promise mean that America will be transformed into a country that the men and women who fought the Second World War, your parents and grandparents, would never recognize the country in the end?

Please stop and ask yourself why is it so important that they attempt to strip us of our right to self-defense. Why must they try repeatedly to in act legislation that only those who have respect for the rule of law would consider following. I ask myself what law against the common good have I broken, what law have you broken that you would need to beg before the state to allow you the privilege of continued unabridged firearms ownership. Quite simply, the answer is none. So I ask you again to ponder, why do they want to abridge your individual right to protect yourself, your family and your sacred honor as an American citizen?

If you are reading this blog entry then you have already recognized the calling within your soul. The voice that beckons “am I ready to defend those I love and myself.” That questioned is hard wired into us, the desire to win, survive and even conquer if confronted by an opposing foe. A close friend of mine is fond of saying “win seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” It is up to you, your level of commitment and training, your desire to be ready to stand in the gap the defend those you hold so dear. But the time to act, train and get involved is now.

Have you ever wondered where the weapons used in martial arts came from? In simplicity, they came from famers, and their farming tools used everyday. The local peasants and monks were not allowed to have manufactured weapons by the imperial Japanese. I am not an historian, but feel free to validate my hypothesis. They simply adapted and used what they had at hand so to speak.

What you have at hand today is the modern firearm and we as a society are not peasants. I encourage you to address the question of standing in the gap in the dark of night with those you love behind you seeking cover. You are a warrior and a protector; maybe you could say a sheepdog watching over the foundations of liberty. Be proud of this innate trait our creator imprinted that message on your heart. Look back through history, every great society had warriors, but those warriors were trained and they practiced their skill sets, “steel sharpening steel” is how the blade became sharp.

The course set before us is two fold; one-way is to surrender, to relinquish your inalienable rights to the state. I recall the line in the movie where the town’s men are standing at the bar and the lone cowboy, ex civil war veteran after hearing their argument that they were not gunfighters and could not stand up to the town’s tyrant makes this statement. “You all are men aren’t you, there are things that eat worse on a man then dying.” The Austrians for years now, have tried very hard to warn us after they gave up the personal firearms. I often wonder if they could go back would they still have laid down their arms? Do you think their act of civil obedience and compliance weighs heavy on their souls today?

The other path is to recognize that this time may not pass; they will not give up and realize someday that their efforts are wasted on us. I once heard of a man who stole a ranch from another, he never used force, he simply moved the fence line one foot closer on the other rancher’s property line every year. It’s called encroachment.

It is time to pray fervently, to prepare against a coming storm and in a collective voice to speak out now. Take the opportunity to answer the question, be ready to stand in the gap for your family, your core values and your country as it was intended to be by the founding fathers. I will close with this thought; the men who fought the Revolutionary War were under supplied and out numbered. They were in the dead of winter and had rags on their feet because they had worn out their boots by the time they crossed the Delaware River. They left their families, homes and farms behind to fight for what they believed so deeply in. Men are still buried all over Europe and the far east who died for this country, if they could be with us today would they want the “Hope and Change” presented to us on the near horizon of this country’s great history?

These are my views, in the modern era that is the beauty of a blog. Folks, I would love to meet you, I look forward to standing with you and developing a friendship based on shared common beliefs in our selves as Americans, and in this great country. God Bless you till then.