Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Today in History

So, finally, we come to the worst case.

We peacefully turn the reigns of power over to a cadre of people who envision an America that so many of us find appalling, an America that I believe in my heart the Founders struggled to prevent from ever happening.

As a person who counts Dr. Martin Luther King among his personal heroes. as a person who grew up in Memphis in the bad old days of segregation, who vividly remembers the sound of gunfire in the streets,  a part of me thrills to see this last great color barrier broken. But I can't help but think what Dr. King might think of a man who got ahead by going along, a man who by his actions condoned terrorists, crooks and thieves and benefited from their largess; a man of facile words, not deeds.

I pray that I am wrong. As has often been noted throughout history, times more often make the man rather than the opposite. The gathering storm around us has already broken, and the old horsemen of depression, war, race hatred and the slaughter of innocents ride again. It will take an exceptional man to guide America though this maelstrom, and I fear we have not elected that person.

For our part — those of us who profoundly and fundamentally believe that the Second Amendment is the defining plank of American liberty — our time of testing has come. It is important to remember that we have stood here before; we have seen the dark days come, and we have seen them go. We must truly, as the new President said, remain true to our forbearers and to our founding documents, because I fear he will not. We must be strong, because those who hold public office will likely be weak. We must be focused because surely our enemies will be.

So, to paraphrase our new President, today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and rededicate ourselves to the remaking of America, an America that guarantees the benefits of liberty, including the fundamental right to bear arms, to our children and grandchildren. We are united; we are strong; we are focused...and we will stand.

So get through today as best you can, secure in the knowledge that our best days are ahead of us and that the strength of our culture — and it is a separate, and better, culture — is our unity. 

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:57 AM

    Not sure if this applies, but I just bought 1500 rounds of ammo for my Rob Pincus Combat Focus shooting class.

    A nice thing to do on January 20th, don't you think?

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  2. Anonymous11:35 AM

    I was watching the inauguration in a crowd of strangers (am in Colorado on biz), and when the speak started and he said "my fellow citizens", my mouth moved before I could stop it, and I heard myself saying "that's supposed to be 'my fellow AMERICANS'".

    I promptly got cussed out and flipped off by those around me.

    Huh.

    Welcome to the new world.

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  3. Anonymous11:41 AM

    TODAY was the inauguration????? You're kidding. How could I have missed it?

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  4. Anonymous12:25 PM

    Eloquently stated, Michael. Vigilance must be our operative word for the foreseeable future.

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  5. Anonymous1:00 PM

    God help the Republic. the mushroom

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  6. bgary - you don't realize he was speaking to the citizen's of the world. His agenda is not for the US only....next the world! It's eerily reminscent of another's rise to power promising everything while having his own agenda - & he had brown shirts too!

    Be vigilant!!! Your country is counting on you!

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  7. Anonymous2:09 PM

    While not a "gun culture" person, I fully support MB's, and others, position on the 2ND, and will fight to uphold that Right.

    However, while any infringement on gun rights is a call-to-arms, that plank obviously did not impress the majority of voters. The ballots are in; we lost.(voted for Sarah) That's how it works.

    It's apparent the NRA and advocates did not, and cannot, sway a presidential election. Or maybe even impact court decisions. It's time to re-think and re-trench.

    Maybe the next four years are fearful, but that's surmise at this point. Hopefully, as MB says, he will be wrong.

    However, the PAST four years are reality.

    Ask the gun owner who has lost his job, or house, or both, and has no health protection for his family. Ask a retiree who lost almost all of his/her life savings, and is looking for work at age 70.

    The importance of upholding the 2nd cannot be diminished. But, when it's time to vote again, ask the above which planks are most important to getting back on their feet.

    Can the new President of the United States fix those problems? Hell, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure they must be fixed before the above has funds for the NRA, or to buy more ammo, or a new AR.

    Unfortunately, he can harm the 2nd much quicker. Be aware.

    just thoughts from some old guy

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  8. I just picked up an AR lower receiver that I ordered on election day.

    Coincidence?

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  9. Anonymous7:55 PM

    I walked into the break room at work today, filled with people's eyes transfixed on the TV, people almost trance like, adoration on their faces.

    The news whores on the TV were almost in a state of constant orgasm over bho being sworn in.

    This is going to be an interesting ride, for sure.

    Semper paratus, my fellow Americans.

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  10. Anonymous10:22 PM

    This morning, the MSM played a recording of our soon-to-be-newly Immaculated "Ruler" saying that "We need a new Bill of Rights". What will be added? What will be removed? What does this mean and why did he say it? Is this a prelude to also removing the "Amendments" to our Constitution? Is it a prelude to having some new rights for some "given" and for others "taken away"?
    As a reminder to all, our Constitution does not grant us the right to free speech and the right to keep and bear arms, it acknowledges that they are God-given rights and that the government shall make no law to infringe upon those rights, among others!
    I think that the Chinese saying "May you live in interesting times" is appropriate here, only they meant it as a curse, politely said. These times will be interesting. I don't think that this president will be pulling us all together. I think that it will be the opposite.
    Life Member

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  11. Anonymous12:33 AM

    1akmaninfl, You need to CAREFULLY examine the history that led to the current economic trouble. The housing mess started back during the Clinton years when Barney Frank was having sex with the head of Freddy mac (might have been Fanny Mae, I get them confused.). For a quick example, Social Security is falling apart today because Johnson stole it from the trust fund it was in originally, to fund his "war on poverty". Jimmy Hoffa did the same thing with the Teamsters pension fund to finance Vegas. Hoffa actually MADE money, but he still went to jail.
    Tom Bogan

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  12. Anonymous7:48 AM

    God help us all! Hopefully there will be enough money worth something when I get my share of the re-distributed wealth. Oh I forgot I work for a living so I guess I'm not included.

    If nothing else this shows that we all should have made the 2nd ammendment a campaign issue and not just talk about it in the firearms community. It should have been out front with BHO's support of terrorists and anarchists.

    Now, let us all hope and pray that the office of the president does not succumb to what people think of us in the rest of the world. We are Americans one and all, and despite what we may personally feel, how many countries can have such a radical change in leadership and do it peacefully.

    Proud to be an AMERICAN

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  13. Anonymous10:20 AM

    Amen, Michael Well Spoken!!

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  14. I don't agree that we need to remake America. We need to restore America.

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  15. Anonymous3:48 PM

    "Many had seen it as clinching proof that the whole of known creation had finally gone bananas"

    Boy was HGTG, prescient...

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  16. Anonymous1:02 AM

    "the last racial barrier broken...".
    I have heard this line in its varying forms these past days and with all due respect I rankle at the words. It infers that we've been racists up to this time and nothing could be further from the truth. I grew up in the 60's and my old man was a preacher who championed civil rights so I had a birds eye view growing up in NYC. I believe we could have voted a black man to the Presidency much earlier had the right person been on the scene. Many point to the waffler Colin Powell as a man who could have made the mark but I think it could have happened sooner. One of the things that prevented it was the millitancy of the radicals. But, now it's pay back time and whitey better get used to riding in the back of the bus. My black friends call me a racist. In a sense, it proves they haven't arrived yet.

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