“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”
- Thomas Jefferson
"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty."
- Thomas Jefferson
The first quote leads to the second. I believe that we have arrived at the second quote.
I understand that it is very difficult to get your arms around what is going on in our country today. We ask aloud and we hear others ask, "Is this really happening?" Maybe we also hear ourselves discounting what we see and hear with statements like, "No, this can't be, this is the United States of America". The simple response to the previous question and statement is YES. Yes, this is happening and Yes, we are the United States of America. Even though our instincts have been dumbed down nearly to a point of non functioning by our very way of life, don't discount your instincts - that gut feeling. And yes we are called the United States but do any of you believe that things are better now than they were 25 years ago? Or more pointed, "Do you see things getting better?" I won't answer that for you. That's a question you have to answer on your own.
On your own - funny, but ultimately that is what "WE" are, a bunch of "On Your Owns". I'm former military and have played numerous team sports throughout my life so I am aware of all the cliches, like; "There's no "I'" in team"; "two is one, one is none", etc. But that's just what they are - cliches. Until "WE" are together, "YOU" are "On your own".
Liberty is not cliche and its not just a word. It is the very heart of being American, everything that we are and that our forefathers fought for. It's everything that we enjoy everyday. Although, as stated in the first quote above, it has been slowly perverted and is now, quietly tyrannical. After the 2014 elections it will no longer be quietly tyrannical it will be full blown tyrannical. How often do you hear people speaking low or cautiously when speaking of things that they should not otherwise have to whisper? Or scared to do things on the internet? Or scared to say things over the phone? I understand cautious. But why do we have to be cautious? That's deteriorating liberty.
Right now we live in "Relatively" good times. Not good times, "Relatively" good times. It could be a lot better but It could also be a lot worse. I think that it will get worse, but right now things are relatively good. And while I'm speaking "Relatively", I have a "Relative" saying of my own. And that is, "Peace is Relative". I have never heard anyone else say it nor have I ever seen it written, I believe that it is mine. I always like to use an example to explain the meaning when I have to. "It's like this: Monday - I was in a 300 yd engagement with 2 poorly trained wanna be jihadists with old AK's. They didn't shoot particularly well but their rounds snapped the air around me nonetheless. They were dispatched within 2 minutes. Tuesday - I was in a 100 yd firefight with 8 AlQueda trained jihadists. They could shoot better, their rounds also snapped the air around me and kicked up dirt and debris also. They were dispatched in 15 minutes. So, see, Monday was more peaceful than Tuesday, 'Peace is Relative'."
Our "Relative Peace" is as attached to the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution as surely as Monday was more peaceful than Tuesday in the previous example. Obama will continue to slowly pervert liberty, at least until 2014. Then, with control of both houses, all hell will let loose to liberty as we "Knew" it. I honestly don't know why our elected representatives feel compelled to give everything away, but I stopped asking that question of myself. What I do know is that if WE don't have the 2nd Amendment, we won't have liberty.
At this point I will say to continuously contact your elected representative's regarding the 2nd Amendment because it's easy to do by e-mail. Personally, I don't believe that "The peoples representatives" are going to win this one for us. I believe this fight is going to have to be won by "ACTION of THE PEOPLE". And I think action will be defined as something most of us probably never thought possible in this country. I wish I could say that there was something more that we could do now, before it gets ugly, but THEY are slow playing within the bounds of the law, or not. Within the bounds of law or not doesn't matter, we see what Obama and his cronies think of laws and we also know that the other side of the aisle can't get out of their own way.
And I leave you with yet another quote of Thomas Jefferson, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
