Are You Paying Attention?

Back when the possibility of Barak Obama becoming President was a strong possibility I noticed a change occurring among the friends and people I associate with on a regular basis. There has always been a strong commitment with my friends towards God, family, patriotism, freedom, personal reliance and the belief that our forefathers new what they were doing when they founded the greatest country in the world.

But I found that many were "getting back to their roots". Now, an outsider looking at these families may say they were already checked out of normal society. They would see families of 6, 7, 8 or more kids, they would see parents homeschooling their children, stay at home mom's, a high proportion of business owners, a commitment to their church and a lack of material items. But I sensed something more than that was going on around me. Then Barak Obama became President Obama and he immediately began tearing down fibers that I believe hold this Country together; funding for worldwide abortion, rescinding the ban on stem cell research, government control of banks and financial institutions and the banning of guns just to mention a few.

It just happened that I was invited to several men's functions all in a short period of time, poker evenings, cigar get together and a dad's night out and I discovered these men are all on the move. They were either in the process of planning or some stage of completing things like, growing their own garden, moving their family out to more land or stocking up on guns. These are not a bunch of fanatics, these are smart men with great families. A group of guys I was honored to be associated with, whose opinions I trust and give much thought to and they were voicing concerns about issues happening in this country and how to handle them.

My family is moving forward with many of the suggestions I heard during these get together's and one of them was getting firearms. Something I haven't had around the house since my first child was born but something I felt was needed now more than before. I went to a gun show to get reacquainted with the industry and the products available. The entire time I was there I felt welcomed and among people with similar concerns, ideas and values, these were my people. Just regular dad's, some with their sons and a few with their entire family. I also noticed it was packed, wall to wall people. This wasn't a surprise since I have read how gun permits were up 40%, gun producers are up to 8 months behind on orders and some types of ammunition are jumping off the shelf. So my wife and I decided to buy some guns and start a program to get our whole family to learn to hunt, and protect oneself.

While at a local gun store I ran into the same quality of persons I did at the gun show. One of them who was a retired police officer from the great state of Texas. I began telling him my story of why I am now purchasing a hand gun and the reason why I feel my family needs this protection. He then retold a story of where he was involved in trying to bring order to the Hurricane Katrina area. He reminded me of how easy it was for some people once they became hungry to turn to violence. That if you did not poses a firearm at that time you were at a high risk of a home invasion, being robbed or even raped. He said that even though people knew they were being rescued at some point still resorted to violence. He told me that under duress there will always be some sizable portion of people who would turn to violence for their own survival.

This was my wake up call. Our Country is in economic duress, certainly not by any measure as bad as the great Depression but you wouldn't know it listening to our President. President Obama is and continues to feed the message that we are in for a whole lot more hurting. What if he's right? What if more people start having a harder time feeding their families? What if people who don't have any skills to provide for themselves or moral character decide they will just take it from me? My family isn't going to wait for that time to come before we are prepared and neither should you.

Annie, Get your gun!

Are you an advocate of owning a gun? You may have heard plenty about the dangers of owning a hand gun and the news is full of examples of guns that end up in the hands of criminals, drug addicts, mentally ill or even young children with horrific results. But the truth is that owning a gun is not just a right that we have as a citizen but perhaps an important requirement to responsible citizenship.

Recently, there was a terrible shooting spree in Samson Alabama. The town is very small with only a 5 person police force. They were overwhelmed by the attack. The story might have just ended there with another example of how guns in the wrong hands are dangerous.

However there is more to the story with much broader implications. That small town was surprised to receive some quick assistance from 22 military police soldiers from Fort Rucker, Ala., along with the provost marshal. Statements since say that the soldiers, were directing traffic, securing the crime scenes and otherwise assisting the police of Samson where needed. What is not known is who called for their help- nor why they responded.

CNSNews.com says "Wrongful use of federal troops inside U.S. borders is a violation of several federal laws, including one known as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, Title 18, Section 1385 of the U.S. Code. “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both,” the law states."

Silly law? I think not! The President or the Alabama Governor still have the ability to call for the military to aid in civilian difficulties in extreme circumstances under the law, but neither party admits to calling for that aid. It was helpful in this instance but what if the military was not to be trusted and came in using their weapons and numbers to enforce whatever they saw fit at the time? Worse yet, what if, as some gun opponents wish, ONLY the military are allowed guns and civilians are completely unarmed? Then what happens in the situation where an armed military presence comes into town UNINVITED, to assist with something that they "deem" needs assistance?

The early Americans would have had no trouble recognizing the threat this poses. They were used to being bullied by a tyrannical government that used force to control the citizens, and the government thought that what it was doing was in the best interest of everyone. This understanding is the underlying reason for why the 2nd amendment exists. The right to bear arms was considered an integral part of keeping the goverment at a healthy distance.

It is never a bad thing to be prepared. Don't neglect the lessons learned by our founding fathers.
Get your guns and be vigilant. You may never need them ... but even if you don't you might hear what Ronald Reagan called the 9 most dangerous words in the English language, " I'm from the government and I'm here to help..."