Are you kidding me!?

Are you kidding me?

I have seen and done lot in my 69 years on this planet.  I have been shot in war, jumped out of over a dozen different aircraft onto at least that many different drop zones, trained to live "off the land" for prolonged periods of time, graduated with honors from graduate school, married well and helped to raise two great boys into full prosperous and meaningful lives, travelled throughout world spending time in almost two dozen countries five of which no longer even exist and met with literally thousands of people some of whom actually could be called acquaintances.  Not much really surprises me anymore but that does not mean I don't find myself becoming more and more frustrated and angered at the sheer idiocy of the actions of my fellow citizens. 

I noted some of the highlights of my own life above to demonstrate that I have periodically been called upon to face fear and desperation but somehow managed to move forward.  Many of the problems in today's headlines are caused by deep seated fears that my fellow citizen is simply too meek and unsure to face in a responsible manner.  In a democracy, the rule of law is the foundation for that form of government to continue to exist.  If, on the other hand, you begin to fear the instruments of law within your society, then your society is doomed to destroy itself.  If the citizen believes they must arm themselves with obscene quantities of weapons and stockpiles of ammunition because they do not trust the ability of their designated law enforcement agencies to protect them then they have initiated that road to societal destruction.  I am rather amused by a non-trained weapons carrier touting the need for extended ammunition magazines.  I have spent considerable time in combat environments engaging actually trained and dedicated adversaries.  On those occasions, I used my US Government assigned weapon, a rifle with a simple twenty round magazine.  Though my rifle did have full automatic capability, this method of fire was rarely used.  We all preferred the careful use of single shot engagements to better enhance our chances of eliminating our threats and to preserve not only our ammunition but also the mechanical integrity of the weapon.  I received extensive training on the use of my weapon and was confident I was at least as well trained as my adversary. 

Given these well documented facts from actual combat engagements, why do ill-trained and improperly motivated citizens in the US still believe they need more than one rifle to protect themselves from unspecified threats but in fact feel the need to acquire multiple weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition?  Any common sense evaluation of scenarios would note that a threat requiring more than a couple of dozen bullets from a single weapon would indicate a threat which could not be overcome by a single individual even in the most outrageous Hollywood movie.  Why then do our citizens feel the need for extended magazines and multiple weapons?  The simple reason is personal fear.  Even "Rambo" only had one side arm.  The frightened little mind that believes more weapons and more ammunition is the answer has forgotten to take into account the one most disturbing aspect of a "gunfight."  Simply stated – the other person is also armed and shooting back. 

This simple fact is what will cause our frightened little mind to ultimately lose in these types of engagements.  By purchasing multiple arms and crate loads of ammunition, they have already demonstrated a total lack of understanding about self-protection and one-on-one winner take all engagements.  Their fear has already doomed them but the most disturbing fact is that their perceptions and lack of trust with law enforcement have spread their fear to the rest of their immediate society.  I would draw their attention to the activities of the local police forces in Massachusettes following the tragedy of the Marathon bombings.  In a matter of hours an entire town was effectively surrounded and placed under a modified police authority.  Now imagine if the several hundred dedicated and well trained police officers were multiplied to reach the numbers that could be fielded by only one of America's infantry divisions – upwards of 20,000 young, strong, well trained and fully equipped men and women with virtually unlimited fire power at their disposal.  These soldiers will not have to seek "hideouts" or "cache" their weapons but will walk our streets in large well protected numbers with any number of "lists" on who lives where obtained from credit and bank accounts, utility bills, hospital records and previous military service records just to name a few.  They will know whom they are confronting.  Trust me!!  Bubba the Patriot, on the other hand, will have scant information on the mission of this Division, how many troops are available, how they are monitoring his activities and what steps this unit will take to accomplish their mission.  If you think the police officers in Massachusetts were upset because on of their own was killed, consider the steps that a field commander will take if his front line troops are "engaged" by Bubba Patriot and his band of
freedom fighters.  It will not be pretty.  Now let's see how many of Bubba's Freedom Fighters want to continue the struggle by heading for the woods and mountains.  Again, I assure you that common field equipment in support of our troops will be able to quite easily find and destroy even the most cleverly concealed lads and lasses who might choose to run for some idea of cover in the woods. 

OK, that's probably enough discussion about these little minded people who believe they are in some way acting out some twisted and convoluted version of patriotism.  If they harbor a sense that they will ultimately be called upon to face off with the entire power and might of a nuclear equipped government, then they have already acknowledged they no longer believe in the concepts of democracy stemming from the ability to elect our governments in free and unfettered elections.  That is the worst type of fear since it is driven also by deep cowardice and ignorance.  They don' want "terrorists" to be tried in our courts because they do not trust our court system.  These same misguided cowards are the ones who yell the loudest about their rights to attorneys, protection of the court and their rights to remain silent when accused of an infraction of the law.  The are quick to point to the 2^nd   Amendment right to bear arms but somehow find it inconvenient to call to mind the base Constitution and the rest of its amendments.  Perhaps if these pseudo-legal experts actually read the document in detail along with the supporting documents and discussions our founding fathers used to formulate this powerful, yet flexible document.  They would quickly learn that The Constitution has been changed and modified dozens of times since its initial printing.  Some amendments were added and later over written by new amendments proving that nothing in our base document is invulnerable to change based on the concepts that change within our society.   We do not authorize slavery, we do authorize the consumption of alcohol, and women can and do vote.  If these monumental changes were made the law of the land in the United States, then it is quite conceivable that as we mature and grow into adulthood as a nation, we will see the need to eliminate personal arsenals by a new amendment as have most of the other civilized nations of the world.  

Where is the reality of today?  It's very disturbing especially to some of us who actually get our daily doses of world news from several sources including, but most certainly not limited to Fox News.  What are the under currents that are ongoing and are actual threats to democracy as we know it in America? 

-       One Southern State attempted to name a single religion as their State religion.   (A clear violation of the 1^st Amendment). 

-       Another Southern State wants to enact a policy of "nullification" whereby it can pick and chose what Federal laws it decides it wishes to obey and which it wishes to ignore or "nullify".   (A clear violation of Article VI of the Constitution.)

-       A certain Representative from Texas has indicated he intends to seek the Presidency even though he was born in Canada of an American mother and foreign father.  (A clear violation of Article II of the Constitution).

Now the latest rumblings indicate that a growing number of so-called Americans believe the United States is headed for another armed civil rebellion.  I would imagine that the cowardice that makes these statements would show their true run and cower nature when the first rounds are fired.  In the meantime, I would ask such "patriots" to consider just what this country would look like following such open hostilities.  Any semblance of personal rights and privileges would be suspended probably - indefinitely.  The Constitution would become an historic relic of no relevance to the surviving form of government.  All elections would be suspended – also indefinitely.  The individual police forces would become "well regulated militias" in support of a powerful and domineering military force.  Bubba, should he actually survive trial and execution for treason, would never again have to be concerned about his right to bear arms.  He, and ALL of his fellow citizens will be forbidden from ownership of private weapons and ammunition.  So go ahead Bubba and threaten the US with armed rebellion.  Your personal dossier will grow and grow as time goes by.