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.