Son,
I have missed our talks - it has been far too long. I suppose the toughest part of the blog is the commitment - it truly requires constant feeding and care, and I have ignored it. My failure has likely resulted in some deep chasm in your learning, but you are sharp - I am sure you will overcome. Sometimes life simply gets in the way of what is important. And sometimes, what is important takes precedence over writing notes which won't get read until you are older and have already begun ignoring my advice.
Much has changed in our lives, but I suppose you have seen that - you have a little sister now, cherubic and rotund as all healthy babes are. She is the image of your aunt Hannah but lesser educated folk will tell you she looks like your mother. I suppose time will tell. And you have handled it brilliantly. Rather than be a snotty brat, chomping for attention, you have found attention comes when you are attentive and you exemplify the protective brother in every way. I could not be more proud.
A week after she was born, we uprooted you and moved you to New Jersey - I promise - it wasn't as bad as it sounds (the move, or living in New Jersey). You handled it well, and today, I joined you for lunch at school, and you were surrounded by a room full of kids - all of whom looked like they had known you for years. I was too proud. But in the coming weeks, change is on the horizon again - another move, another town, and another school. I am sure that this comes with its own pains, but I know too that your mother and I will make more out of it than you ever will. You are a champ and soon you will have a room all your own again, strewn only with your clothes, your toys. So clean up will you?
And this weekend, I too am coming home, in some ways. This weekend is the closing of the Armory where my National Guard unit met for one weekend a month. Located in the heart of North Philadelphia, between some tough neighborhoods, and LaSalle University, the Armory was never much to look at, but inside it housed a history of stories that shall never be repeated. And from these stories, I learned a great deal about life - its value and its bonds with others. Not all of the stories were good, but everything had a story to it.
There are too many to tell here and many are still likely to get some old friends divorced, killed or jailed, but suffice it to say, I will miss that place after it has been bulldozed (after the EPA cleans up the oil leaks and asbestos which no doubt floats through that place.) The musty smells of the basement, the scent of gun oil in the arms room, and even the stench of the urinals that never seemed to be clean will all stay with me forever. I remember coming in for drill one weekend to find a drug addict sleeping in a wrecked car in the parking lot, and I remember taking your cousin CJ on a tour of the tanks and machine guns inside the fenceline. Tonight, I can even remember back to my first drill weekend at the armory after returning from Basic Training - I was late because no one told me what time to be there, I got my first counseling statement from Tony Gray (you will meet him someday, I promise), and I met my Platoon Sergeant, Ted Stowell, who taught me more about being a man than anyone I ever knew. Some day I will even tell you about Kevin Hall - a story too long for any blog, but one which is exemplified by the statement (about your mother) "Damn, Sergeant Port, your wife got a phat ass". (I think she secretly liked it) While many of my ramblings will apply to your sister as well, I suspect that she won't appreciate this like you will.
Since I left in 2004, much has changed. Many of these men are out of service now, or have come and gone to Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, or some other country long abandoned by civilization or Gods. I am going back these weekend to see these folks for perhaps one last time, before I etch my service into my memoirs, but that place will never be forgotten even after it has been replaced by condos, or projects or a supermarket. The camaraderie that comes from a crew of guys who have no one else who appreciates their stories is unlike anything else you will ever experience and it is not soon forgotten. I hope you experience it and I hope those friendships last you as long as mine have. For me, my relationships in high school, grade school, college and beyond, pale in contrast to the brotherhood I was so fortunate to build in that old building in North Philadelphia.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Lessons Learned
Son,
I have rarely found a description of what "Army Life" was like better than this one. Pull this article out someday when you are considering flunking out of college, or looking at skipping class in the 11th grade. If you can do items 1-50, I will let you drop out and sign up. Otherwise, get your ass back to work, or get into the Air Force.
For the record, I don't know who wrote this - It isn't mine, but damn is it funny.
How to Simulate Life in the Army
1. Dig a big hole in your back yard and live in it for 30 days straight.
2. Go inside only to clean the house. On weekends, you can eat in the house, but you can't talk.
3. Pour 10 inches of nasty, crappy water into your hole, then shovel it out, stack sandbags around it and cover it with a sheet of old plywood.
4. Fill a backpack with 50 pounds of kitty litter. Never take it off outdoors. Jog everywhere you go.
5. Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go the scummiest part of town, find the most run down trashy bar you can, pay $10 per beer until you're hammered, then walk home in the freezing cold.
6. Perform a weekly disassembly and inspection of your lawnmower.
7. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays turn the water pressure in your shower down to a trickle, then on Tuesday and Thursday turn it up so hard it peels skin. On Saturdays and Sundays declare to your entire family that they can't use the shower in order to keep it clean for inspection.
8. Go inside and make your bed every morning. Have your wife tear the blankets off at random during the day. Re-make the bed each time until it is time to go back outside and sleep in your hole.
9. Have your next door neighbor come over each day at 5am, and blow a whistle so loud that Helen Keller could hear it and shout "Get up! Get up! You are moving too slow! Get down and do push-ups!"
10. Have your mother-in-law write down everything she's going to do the following day, then have her make you stand in the back yard at 6am and read it to you.
11. Eat the raunchiest Mexican food you can find for three days straight, then lock yourself out of the bathroom for 12 hours. Hang a sign on the bathroom door that says, "Unserviceable."
12. Submit a request form to your father-in-law, asking if it's ok for you to leave your house before 5pm.
13. Invite 200 of your not-so-closest friends to come over. Have them all dig holes in your yard to live in. After 30 days, fill in the holes and wave at your friends and family through the front window of your home as you set out for a 25 mile walk and After-Action-Review.
14. Shower with above-mentioned friends.
15. Make your family qualify to operate all the appliances in your home (i.e. Dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.).
16. Walk around your car for 4 hours checking the tire pressure every 15 minutes. Write down on a piece of paper everything you want the shop to fix the next time you bring the car in. Give your wife the list to throw away.
17. Sit in your car and let it run for 4 hours with the windows down before going anywhere. Tune the radio to static and monitor it while letting the car run. If it is cold outside, don't run the heat. Sleep on the hood or roof of your car.
18. Empty all the garbage bins in your house, and sweep your driveway 3 times a day, whether they need it or not.
19. Repaint your entire house once a month. Paint white rings around all the trees in your neighborhood. Paint all curbs yellow. Paint all rocks red.
20. Cook all of your food blindfolded, groping for any spice and seasoning you can get your hands on.
21. Use eighteen scoops of budget coffee grounds per pot, and allow each pot to sit 5 hours before drinking.
22. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, read your magazines, and randomly lose every 5th item.
23. Spend $20,000 on a satellite system for your TV, but only watch CNN and the Weather Channel when you are inside to eat. Tune the tint on the TV to green.
24. Avoid watching your green tinted TV with the exception of movies which are played in the middle of the night. Have the family vote on which movie to watch and then show a different one.
25. Have your 5-year-old cousin give you a haircut with goat shears.
26. Sew big pockets to the legs of your pants. Don't use them.
27. Spend 2 weeks sleeping in holes in your neighbor's lawns and call it a deployment.
28. Spend a year sleeping in holes in your local area and call it world travel.
29. Attempt to spend 5 years working at McDonalds, and NOT get promoted.
30. Ensure that any promotions you do get are from stepping on the dead bodies of your co-workers.
31. Blast heavy metal music on your stereo and conduct Ranger PT, grass drills, and sprints on your front lawn after your neighbors have gone to bed.
32. When your children are in bed, run into their room with a megaphone and shout at the top of your lungs that your home is under attack, and order them to man their fighting positions. Don't let them eat or sleep again for two days.
33. Make your family menu a week ahead of time and do so without checking the pantry and refrigerator.
34. Post a menu on the refrigerator door informing your family that you are having steak for dinner. Then make them wait in line for at least an hour. When they finally get to the kitchen, tell them that you are out of steak, but you have dried ham or hot dogs. Repeat daily until they don't pay attention to the menu any more so they just ask for hot dogs.
35. When baking a cake, prop up one side of the pan while it is in the oven. Spread icing on real thick to level it off.
36. In the middle of January, place a gate at the end of your street. Have your family stand watches at the gate, rotating at 4-hour intervals.
37. Make your family live with you in your hole for 6 weeks. Then tell them that at the end of the 6th week you're going to take them to Disneyland for "block leave." When the end of the 6th week rolls around, inform them that Disneyland has been canceled due to the fact that they need to get ready for Individual Skill Certification, and that it will be another week before they can go back into the house.
38. In your hole (refer to #1), with 200 of your not-so-closest friends (see para. 13), get the flu.
39. Sleep in a thicket of blackberries or rose bushes. Tie a string to your foot that runs to the house. Have your wife yank on the string about 3 hours after you go to sleep. Crawl out of the bushes and go to the house to see what she wants. She should then shine a flashlight in your eyes and mumble "Just making sure you're okay."
40. Do not sleep from 1:00 a.m. Monday mornings until 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoons. Tie a branch around your neck and chew on sand to stay awake.
41. When there is a thunderstorm in your area, dig a trench into your hole so that it fills up with water. During the worst part of the storm, get out of your hole and go for a 12 mile walk.
42. Don't change your socks for a week. After they disintegrate off with pieces of your feet, put on an unbroken pair of new boots and go for a 12 mile walk.
43. For mechanized infantry or armor types: leave the lawn mower running next to your hole 24 hours a day. When you get an opportunity to sleep in your house, put lube oil in your humidifier and set it on high.
44. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
45. Set up a port-a-potty in the corner of your yard. Once a week, have the service truck back into your yard and pump it out. Make sure the wind carries the smell into your neighbors house. Ignore his complaints.
46. Every other month pull every single possession you own out of your house and line everything up on your lawn from smallest to largest, front to back. Count everything and write it down to file with your insurance company. Give your wife the list to throw away.
47. Lock wire the lug nuts on your car.
48. Buy a trash can, but don't use it. Store the garbage in your hole.
49. Get up every night around midnight and stroll around your yard to "check the perimeter."
50. Run the garden hose to your hole and turn it on. Set your alarm clock to go off at random during the night. Jump up and get dressed as fast as you can. Run out into the backyard and get in your hole.
51. Once a month, take apart every major appliance in your home and put them back together again.
52. Build a scale model of your yard. Make your children draw sketches of it including little arrows indicating what they are going to do when they go out to play. Post these sketches on a bulletin board for reference.
53. Remove the insulation and widen the frames of your front and back doors so that no matter how tight you shut the door, the weather will still get inside.
54. Every so often, throw the cat in front of your hole and shout "Enemy in the wire! Fire Claymores!" Then run into the house cut off the circuit breaker. Yell at the wife and kids for violating security and not maintaining good noise and light discipline.
55. Put on the headphones from your stereo set, but don't plug them in. Hang a paper cup around your neck with string. Go sit in your car. Say to no one in particular "Lost-One, this is Lost-Three, are you lost too, over?" Sit there for three or four hours with the engine running. Say again to no one in particular "Negative contact, Lost-Three out." Roll up your headphones and paper cup and place them in a box
I have rarely found a description of what "Army Life" was like better than this one. Pull this article out someday when you are considering flunking out of college, or looking at skipping class in the 11th grade. If you can do items 1-50, I will let you drop out and sign up. Otherwise, get your ass back to work, or get into the Air Force.
For the record, I don't know who wrote this - It isn't mine, but damn is it funny.
How to Simulate Life in the Army
1. Dig a big hole in your back yard and live in it for 30 days straight.
2. Go inside only to clean the house. On weekends, you can eat in the house, but you can't talk.
3. Pour 10 inches of nasty, crappy water into your hole, then shovel it out, stack sandbags around it and cover it with a sheet of old plywood.
4. Fill a backpack with 50 pounds of kitty litter. Never take it off outdoors. Jog everywhere you go.
5. Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go the scummiest part of town, find the most run down trashy bar you can, pay $10 per beer until you're hammered, then walk home in the freezing cold.
6. Perform a weekly disassembly and inspection of your lawnmower.
7. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays turn the water pressure in your shower down to a trickle, then on Tuesday and Thursday turn it up so hard it peels skin. On Saturdays and Sundays declare to your entire family that they can't use the shower in order to keep it clean for inspection.
8. Go inside and make your bed every morning. Have your wife tear the blankets off at random during the day. Re-make the bed each time until it is time to go back outside and sleep in your hole.
9. Have your next door neighbor come over each day at 5am, and blow a whistle so loud that Helen Keller could hear it and shout "Get up! Get up! You are moving too slow! Get down and do push-ups!"
10. Have your mother-in-law write down everything she's going to do the following day, then have her make you stand in the back yard at 6am and read it to you.
11. Eat the raunchiest Mexican food you can find for three days straight, then lock yourself out of the bathroom for 12 hours. Hang a sign on the bathroom door that says, "Unserviceable."
12. Submit a request form to your father-in-law, asking if it's ok for you to leave your house before 5pm.
13. Invite 200 of your not-so-closest friends to come over. Have them all dig holes in your yard to live in. After 30 days, fill in the holes and wave at your friends and family through the front window of your home as you set out for a 25 mile walk and After-Action-Review.
14. Shower with above-mentioned friends.
15. Make your family qualify to operate all the appliances in your home (i.e. Dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.).
16. Walk around your car for 4 hours checking the tire pressure every 15 minutes. Write down on a piece of paper everything you want the shop to fix the next time you bring the car in. Give your wife the list to throw away.
17. Sit in your car and let it run for 4 hours with the windows down before going anywhere. Tune the radio to static and monitor it while letting the car run. If it is cold outside, don't run the heat. Sleep on the hood or roof of your car.
18. Empty all the garbage bins in your house, and sweep your driveway 3 times a day, whether they need it or not.
19. Repaint your entire house once a month. Paint white rings around all the trees in your neighborhood. Paint all curbs yellow. Paint all rocks red.
20. Cook all of your food blindfolded, groping for any spice and seasoning you can get your hands on.
21. Use eighteen scoops of budget coffee grounds per pot, and allow each pot to sit 5 hours before drinking.
22. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, read your magazines, and randomly lose every 5th item.
23. Spend $20,000 on a satellite system for your TV, but only watch CNN and the Weather Channel when you are inside to eat. Tune the tint on the TV to green.
24. Avoid watching your green tinted TV with the exception of movies which are played in the middle of the night. Have the family vote on which movie to watch and then show a different one.
25. Have your 5-year-old cousin give you a haircut with goat shears.
26. Sew big pockets to the legs of your pants. Don't use them.
27. Spend 2 weeks sleeping in holes in your neighbor's lawns and call it a deployment.
28. Spend a year sleeping in holes in your local area and call it world travel.
29. Attempt to spend 5 years working at McDonalds, and NOT get promoted.
30. Ensure that any promotions you do get are from stepping on the dead bodies of your co-workers.
31. Blast heavy metal music on your stereo and conduct Ranger PT, grass drills, and sprints on your front lawn after your neighbors have gone to bed.
32. When your children are in bed, run into their room with a megaphone and shout at the top of your lungs that your home is under attack, and order them to man their fighting positions. Don't let them eat or sleep again for two days.
33. Make your family menu a week ahead of time and do so without checking the pantry and refrigerator.
34. Post a menu on the refrigerator door informing your family that you are having steak for dinner. Then make them wait in line for at least an hour. When they finally get to the kitchen, tell them that you are out of steak, but you have dried ham or hot dogs. Repeat daily until they don't pay attention to the menu any more so they just ask for hot dogs.
35. When baking a cake, prop up one side of the pan while it is in the oven. Spread icing on real thick to level it off.
36. In the middle of January, place a gate at the end of your street. Have your family stand watches at the gate, rotating at 4-hour intervals.
37. Make your family live with you in your hole for 6 weeks. Then tell them that at the end of the 6th week you're going to take them to Disneyland for "block leave." When the end of the 6th week rolls around, inform them that Disneyland has been canceled due to the fact that they need to get ready for Individual Skill Certification, and that it will be another week before they can go back into the house.
38. In your hole (refer to #1), with 200 of your not-so-closest friends (see para. 13), get the flu.
39. Sleep in a thicket of blackberries or rose bushes. Tie a string to your foot that runs to the house. Have your wife yank on the string about 3 hours after you go to sleep. Crawl out of the bushes and go to the house to see what she wants. She should then shine a flashlight in your eyes and mumble "Just making sure you're okay."
40. Do not sleep from 1:00 a.m. Monday mornings until 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoons. Tie a branch around your neck and chew on sand to stay awake.
41. When there is a thunderstorm in your area, dig a trench into your hole so that it fills up with water. During the worst part of the storm, get out of your hole and go for a 12 mile walk.
42. Don't change your socks for a week. After they disintegrate off with pieces of your feet, put on an unbroken pair of new boots and go for a 12 mile walk.
43. For mechanized infantry or armor types: leave the lawn mower running next to your hole 24 hours a day. When you get an opportunity to sleep in your house, put lube oil in your humidifier and set it on high.
44. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
45. Set up a port-a-potty in the corner of your yard. Once a week, have the service truck back into your yard and pump it out. Make sure the wind carries the smell into your neighbors house. Ignore his complaints.
46. Every other month pull every single possession you own out of your house and line everything up on your lawn from smallest to largest, front to back. Count everything and write it down to file with your insurance company. Give your wife the list to throw away.
47. Lock wire the lug nuts on your car.
48. Buy a trash can, but don't use it. Store the garbage in your hole.
49. Get up every night around midnight and stroll around your yard to "check the perimeter."
50. Run the garden hose to your hole and turn it on. Set your alarm clock to go off at random during the night. Jump up and get dressed as fast as you can. Run out into the backyard and get in your hole.
51. Once a month, take apart every major appliance in your home and put them back together again.
52. Build a scale model of your yard. Make your children draw sketches of it including little arrows indicating what they are going to do when they go out to play. Post these sketches on a bulletin board for reference.
53. Remove the insulation and widen the frames of your front and back doors so that no matter how tight you shut the door, the weather will still get inside.
54. Every so often, throw the cat in front of your hole and shout "Enemy in the wire! Fire Claymores!" Then run into the house cut off the circuit breaker. Yell at the wife and kids for violating security and not maintaining good noise and light discipline.
55. Put on the headphones from your stereo set, but don't plug them in. Hang a paper cup around your neck with string. Go sit in your car. Say to no one in particular "Lost-One, this is Lost-Three, are you lost too, over?" Sit there for three or four hours with the engine running. Say again to no one in particular "Negative contact, Lost-Three out." Roll up your headphones and paper cup and place them in a box
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A friend in need -
Looking for Land
My wife, Timi, and I, Chris Pieretti, are looking for a little underutilized land. We are researching the development of a food service. You grow it; you cook it. It’s called Kitchen Harvest. Think you can’t afford organic food? If you have a little space, yes, you sure can! You can grow it yourself. The idea is to help communities naturally grow their own food and prepare it simply, deliciously and elegantly. One of the most basic key components to this venture is the ability to efficiently amend our soil types to successfully grow a variety of crops. Our soil amendment would be the richest and most naturally nutritious compost around! The compost would be a mix of natural waste products from the community like leaves, coffee grounds and vegetable waste. It requires some science, some labor and a little land to rapidly produce such fertile compost. I’ve got the science and the labor, but I need the land. Our ¼ acre home lot is plenty for us and our garden needs, but to service a larger community I need a bit more space. A 30’ x 30’ square would be a great start.
I would be completely responsible for all permitting and other legal requirements for the use and operation of a small composting facility in accordance with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and all other relevant governing organizations.
The ideal area of perhaps 900 sq. ft. would satisfy the following:
· Truck access for loading and unloading
· A well-drained area with a workable surface and a slope of 2-4%
· The working surface is firm, uniformly graded and dry
· Area is not located (DEP permit WMG017 for On-Farm Source Separated Composting):
o In the 100-year floodplain of waters of its Commonwealth
o In or within 300 feet of an exceptional wetland
o In or within 100 feet of a wetland other than an exceptional value wetland
o Within 100 feet of a sinkhole or area draining to a sinkhole
o Within 300 feet measured horizontally from an occupied dwelling unless the owner would provide a written waiver consenting to the facility being closer than 300 feet
o Within 50 feet of a property line unless the owner would provide a written waiver consenting to the facility being closer than 50 feet
o Within 100 feet of a perennial stream
o Within 300 feet of a water source unless the owner would provide a written waiver consenting to the facility being closer than 300 feet
o Within 3.3 feet of a perched, seasonal or regional ground water table
The compost pile would be free of offensive odors (unless you don’t like the smell of a forest floor), attractively enclosed on three sides and, if all goes well, perhaps twenty feet high. This land might be found in the corner of a school or church parking lot, the side of an underutilized city lot, the unused bay at a nursery or the small divide of a pasture. It is our intention to work along with nature to provide healthy food for our families, to responsibly nurture our environment and to reconnect to our Earth.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The bitter taste.
Son, as I write this, our nation's top lawyer is deciding whether to press charges against 5 people who helped plan the 9/11 attacks. Hopefully as you read this, the history books are written and this is a distant memory for your generation, much as World War II was for me. But for me, and millions of American's like me, this is not the case. This was our generations defining moment, much like Hitler of the 40's, or Kennedy's assassination in the 60's.
I remember that morning at work. Beautiful fall day in Philadelphia. I had ridden my bike to work. Blue skies. Perfect. After I got settled at my desk, your mother called me. She told me to get to a TV - and we had one in the lobby. I turned it on, and watched in disbelief as the 2nd plane hit the second tower. And I stood there as Katie Couric of the Today show tried to make sense of it. Ten minutes later, I was surrounded by co-workers all of whom were confused by the scene as we all were. The downside of an HD media - We were all getting it at once. And being 3 hours away, we all had friends living in New York City. And living in and around a city we all were wondering who was next.
By ten am that morning the air was void of planes, and our nation had suffered the worst attack of our generation. Within hours we were galvanized against the enemy, but within years, many had forgotten or the weekend patriots had gone home. By today, we have a new problem, which should have been handled long ago.
I believe in our Constitution, and especially in the 8th Amendments. I believe that all criminals deserve a right to trial. However, I also believe that those who organize into an equivalent nation state are not criminals but rather warriors, and these warriors of this new, threat nation state are not subject to our laws, our Constitution, or rights afforded to those who live within those constructs. In short, if you fly some planes into 5,000 innocent people, and if effects our country, you don't get to play the fair trial. And don't ask for anything other than cruel and unusual punishment. We are forever scarred by your actions, and you deserve nothing more than the most deviant, violent, and painful stuff I can imagine. And my imagination is vivid.
You see on that day, those men attacked my family. This country is a conglomeration of all types, but the nation is above all. We must protect it like our family and for those who attack the family, the response must be swift and metered to leave an impact which deters others from delivering similar blows. In turn, these 5 men, these warriors, deserve nothing but the same brutality, and callous disregard for the peaceful remainder like that which they plotted and delivered on 9/11.
But because these men plotted as a conspiracy against the United States and because they acted as represetatives of this nation, I am willing to turn away from the Constitution which applies to us and apply a more coarse, and more just law of land warfare, where enemy combatants are subject to trials for war crimes - where the punishments are more severe and the justice more swift. I hope that rage prevails this time, and that we get what this nation needs to put this behind us - and give us something to blame, and something to destroy. Let it be put to rest, and let's move on with the healing.
I remember that morning at work. Beautiful fall day in Philadelphia. I had ridden my bike to work. Blue skies. Perfect. After I got settled at my desk, your mother called me. She told me to get to a TV - and we had one in the lobby. I turned it on, and watched in disbelief as the 2nd plane hit the second tower. And I stood there as Katie Couric of the Today show tried to make sense of it. Ten minutes later, I was surrounded by co-workers all of whom were confused by the scene as we all were. The downside of an HD media - We were all getting it at once. And being 3 hours away, we all had friends living in New York City. And living in and around a city we all were wondering who was next.
By ten am that morning the air was void of planes, and our nation had suffered the worst attack of our generation. Within hours we were galvanized against the enemy, but within years, many had forgotten or the weekend patriots had gone home. By today, we have a new problem, which should have been handled long ago.
I believe in our Constitution, and especially in the 8th Amendments. I believe that all criminals deserve a right to trial. However, I also believe that those who organize into an equivalent nation state are not criminals but rather warriors, and these warriors of this new, threat nation state are not subject to our laws, our Constitution, or rights afforded to those who live within those constructs. In short, if you fly some planes into 5,000 innocent people, and if effects our country, you don't get to play the fair trial. And don't ask for anything other than cruel and unusual punishment. We are forever scarred by your actions, and you deserve nothing more than the most deviant, violent, and painful stuff I can imagine. And my imagination is vivid.
You see on that day, those men attacked my family. This country is a conglomeration of all types, but the nation is above all. We must protect it like our family and for those who attack the family, the response must be swift and metered to leave an impact which deters others from delivering similar blows. In turn, these 5 men, these warriors, deserve nothing but the same brutality, and callous disregard for the peaceful remainder like that which they plotted and delivered on 9/11.
But because these men plotted as a conspiracy against the United States and because they acted as represetatives of this nation, I am willing to turn away from the Constitution which applies to us and apply a more coarse, and more just law of land warfare, where enemy combatants are subject to trials for war crimes - where the punishments are more severe and the justice more swift. I hope that rage prevails this time, and that we get what this nation needs to put this behind us - and give us something to blame, and something to destroy. Let it be put to rest, and let's move on with the healing.
Friday, September 11, 2009
A great night, and a brief post
Son, right now you are approaching sleep, as your mother tucks you in. Tonights lecture has nothing to do with leading nations, freedom of speech, civil rights, or even hot girls (That is for tomorrow at the pool). Tonight the focus is on you.
Tonight, you and I got a chance to hang out under the stars, by a roaring fire while swinging in the hammock. Many years from now, this memory will have long passed for you I am sure but it will still be vivid for me long into my senility. However, when you read this, the lesson I want you to take away is to make sure you make these memories for you with your own son - or daughter. The time is invaluable, and while you sat there talking of your days events, I watched the embers glow orange and the stars shine bright white against the deep, dark sky above. I hardly notice the blood draining into the invisible mosquitoes, or the houses that envelop our neighborhood.
That time, that precious time, which slips through our hands as you get older, and taller, and smarter, and just grow into being you, stops as we sit there under the sky, and I am grateful for those moments. I could listen your stories for hours. Tomorrow, I will bring the marshmallows, and the tent - You bring more stories. And in a few years when I spent this time with your little sister - don't be jealous - I promise I will make enough time for both of you.
Tonight, you and I got a chance to hang out under the stars, by a roaring fire while swinging in the hammock. Many years from now, this memory will have long passed for you I am sure but it will still be vivid for me long into my senility. However, when you read this, the lesson I want you to take away is to make sure you make these memories for you with your own son - or daughter. The time is invaluable, and while you sat there talking of your days events, I watched the embers glow orange and the stars shine bright white against the deep, dark sky above. I hardly notice the blood draining into the invisible mosquitoes, or the houses that envelop our neighborhood.
That time, that precious time, which slips through our hands as you get older, and taller, and smarter, and just grow into being you, stops as we sit there under the sky, and I am grateful for those moments. I could listen your stories for hours. Tomorrow, I will bring the marshmallows, and the tent - You bring more stories. And in a few years when I spent this time with your little sister - don't be jealous - I promise I will make enough time for both of you.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Another day of heated debate
Well son, today I inspired a day of heated debate by my friends, colleagues and patriots. People who love their country - who love their fellow man, stepped up to kick down those who don't believe in their one true approach to American government. And when bright minds differ, we have evolved to name calling, exaggeration and flexing of the truth to where it is no longer recognized.
As you grow older, I am sure our nation will mature, but in what direction I am not sure. Interestingly, in 1992, I was in and around London, England, with the British Army. During that time, I learned a few things. First, and most important, I learned that it is possible to train hard all day, shooting, marching, more shooting and more marching around a town called Thetford. I also learned that after all of that you can drink from around 10 pm until 3-4 am and then continue the training, if you really try and push through the pounding in your head.
Most importantly, I learned of the importance of tradition and respect. During this visit I was informed by our US leaders not to ever question the role of the queen. Seriously, a matriarch in the 20th century, who had no real power and whose only authority has been derived from being born from the "right" uterus. However, to the English people, she and her family represented the elite. The aristocracy had a role, and she acted as a model for all people on behavior, on culture, and being a lady, when all about are losing their head. In fact, I probed the subject with my peers in their Army and it cost me dearly in pints of warm bitters. They are serious about it.
Again in the military, I learned these important lessons. Despite the several leaders I had over the years who failed me, I knew I had to follow the rules that required I follow, as those who may have disagreed with me had to follow me at times as well. While not a perfect system, it allows a unit to operate under extreme duress, when the chips are down and when all about them are again losing their heads. Certainly not the best approach, but we lack a hive mind, so this will have to work. And it surprisingly does. It works even better when the leader you have knows how to get the best from you. By now you have met your uncles Greg and Dave and others and know what I mean.
So onto my point. We are a nation in crisis. We have a failed economy. A failed corporate America, where greed, and deregulation of key industries married to destroy economic prosperity. We have two wars, plus a globe in humanitarian failure. We have an illegal immigration problem, coupled with a disease of sloth among many of our citizens. We have a pseudo democracy as a form of Government, where money can drive the incompetent or expired into power term after term after term, and where the truly competent leaders of our generation run fleeing into private industry. We have a Government which is bloating like a corpse in the river, but where our people turn in times of crisis. And lastly, and likely the worst, we have a long outdated two-party system, which likely represents only a minority of citizens and that has disenfranchised most of the middle and lower-upper classes by representing those who are not them. So what do we do? We eat our leadership.
Now, before I continue, I want to remind you of two recurring themes to these missives. First, the Constitution is our nation's guiding beacon. There is nothing else that matters, and the measure of a nation is how it behaves in light of this document, when the chips are down. Second, critical thought is a key factor in your success in life. When people bring you ideas, you must always consider them carefully before making a decision. Life is about the choices you make, and not the crap you acquire. Therefore, always look at what is in it for all involved and not just what will you get out of it.
So, let's look at our current state. The far right would tell you that our current leader is to blame. That he is evil and that he is trying to indoctrinate our children. (I would say that we could do a better job of indoctrinating our children into being a little more pro patria). The right would argue that his programs are socialist. That his behavior is driven by racial motives, or that he represents the interests of terrorists. All of those things and more have made it to Fox News. And been spoken by Republican leadership.
On the other hand, our more liberal representatives would blame our current crisis on the former President. They would focus on the last administration, and attempt to evade any criticism for their own significant failings as the Congress who deregulated housing, a key market driver in a society which produces nothing (seriously son, our country produces exactly nothing, except services, porn and some other useless crap - everything else comes from Asia - Thanks Unions!) The left will push issues the nation is likely not ready for while hiding behind a black man shouting "racist" at every critic of his administration.
So where is the solution? I suspect if your mother and I are still in this country as you reach adulthood, the solution is like everything else. In moderation. The reality is that the truth is in the middle, and yes, it shall set you free.
Is our President socialist? Perhaps more so than we are used to. Socialist in the sense of post-depression activities like welfare, and food stamps, but perhaps to a more significant degree. However, this guy inherited a train wreck from his predecessor, and this train had the brakes release before President GW Bush took office. Wanna blame someone? There are plenty of targets to go around.
Does that make him evil? A guy named McCarthy say around called all of the people in Hollywood "Communists". Were they? Probably not. Did it make them evil? No. Was McCarthy an ass? Yep, but was he evil? No. We just arrested a guy who locked up three women in his back yard for over 18 years. He was evil. I watched two towers collapse in New York, on live television, while those below and above died. That was evil. Giving healthcare to poor people? I don't like it but it is far from evil.
Do we need socialism of the core providers like healthcare, the auto industry and banking? I suspect not. However, the systems as they are today are screwed up. They fail to provide to the masses. They fail to provide, even for those who can afford to pay. Period. I almost had to pay $6,000 in medical bills for you my boy, because the insurance company put a check in a box where there should be no check. But this is not a reason to Federalize these services (For the record calling these services socialized or Socialist is a great term to inflame thanks to 40 years of the Cold War - Just ask Charlie McCarthy)
Should we just figure it all out without the taxpayer "buying" the failures? I am sure we should - But I didn't get elected on 11/4/2008. So you know what? I am not sure these are the solutions, but the people have spoken. Therefore those who oppose have two choice, really. Wait until 11/4/2012 and make some changes, or take up arms against the tyranny of a Government to be unjust. I suppose there is a third option, but it is unpopular. Step up to the plate, and go to their congressman. Get involved. Take a real stand but without hiding behind the bitter rhetoric of ratings whores. Better still - volunteer to help children who are without because of lazy parents to become more than their parents accomplished. Help those who cannot help themselves to become better so that someday they will help those who are in need.
Did our congress screw up? Definitely. Was our former president out of his depth? Sure was. Is our current one? Maybe. However, I will say this one important thing. It is easy to be an armchair president. It is easy to second guess. Those who take that job likely have some personality quirks that I don't care for, but most importantly, I know I don't want the job. In our immature culture, it is too easy to sit back though, and say I don't want the job, and still bitch about the job the guy is doing. Another lesson from my friends from the British Army - "Any cunt can criticize." (Sorry readers, you may find this objectionable, but I do so love the 1st Amendment.) This phrase is as applicable to a light infantry platoon making mistakes as it is to leading a nation. We will make mistakes - these guys have to figure out how to fix them.
A last question for you. Do we in the middle and lower-upper classes live in a bubble? We definitely do. As you get older, I encourage you to see the worst parts of this great land. While our pundits shout down opposition, many of them have never spent real time with a family whose house burned to the ground after they lost insurance, after the husband lost a job, because we have to more industry. I found a house not far from where we live, where the two women who lived there were descendants of slaves, and had never bought property of their own. They were evicted, when the owner of the property, whose grandparents had invited the slave family to stay in the home on the property after the emancipation proclamation. Before you were born, I had coffee with a man whose home had been blown apart except for the one remaining room, where he lived, until he could rebuild. And he paid for the coffee. My point is that while we shout at each other, write checks to charity and drive our German cars around, we keep a blind eye to the Mexican woman who cleans our hotel rooms, or the dirty white kid who washes our car. Or even to the World War II veteran who served his four years fighting Nazis and liberating nations, but today has to split his pills in half, because the job he worked for decades lost his pension funds and now finds himself on limited income, but too proud to take Government assistance. Go out son, and meet these people, for they are where the truth lies. Great Americans who work so their children can see a brighter future.
When we look beyond this bubble and realize that "There but for the Grace of God Go I," we realize quickly that we must find a national solution. That while the guy who is in charge is in the elected position authorized by our founding documents, that he is in charge. That it is time to shut up and march and shoot and fight like hell to get through this, and that your dissent is past critical thought and that both sides are being cunty (Thanks Color Sergeant Mick, I will never forget this lesson, though I have forgotten your last name). It is frankly time for sacrifice. To pick up and fight, and to get this nation back to where it should be. And frankly a place for my many friends to realize that the other side is not entirely wrong and that their own side is not entirely right, but rather that the solution will only be found when we can sit down at the table, over some beers, and discuss - without name calling - the facts and the objectives. And perhaps in the morning through hangovers we will find that our sight pictures are a little more crisp as the fog lifts, and those who are on our left and right sides are a little more close to brethren and a little farther from being the enemy.
As you grow older, I am sure our nation will mature, but in what direction I am not sure. Interestingly, in 1992, I was in and around London, England, with the British Army. During that time, I learned a few things. First, and most important, I learned that it is possible to train hard all day, shooting, marching, more shooting and more marching around a town called Thetford. I also learned that after all of that you can drink from around 10 pm until 3-4 am and then continue the training, if you really try and push through the pounding in your head.
Most importantly, I learned of the importance of tradition and respect. During this visit I was informed by our US leaders not to ever question the role of the queen. Seriously, a matriarch in the 20th century, who had no real power and whose only authority has been derived from being born from the "right" uterus. However, to the English people, she and her family represented the elite. The aristocracy had a role, and she acted as a model for all people on behavior, on culture, and being a lady, when all about are losing their head. In fact, I probed the subject with my peers in their Army and it cost me dearly in pints of warm bitters. They are serious about it.
Again in the military, I learned these important lessons. Despite the several leaders I had over the years who failed me, I knew I had to follow the rules that required I follow, as those who may have disagreed with me had to follow me at times as well. While not a perfect system, it allows a unit to operate under extreme duress, when the chips are down and when all about them are again losing their heads. Certainly not the best approach, but we lack a hive mind, so this will have to work. And it surprisingly does. It works even better when the leader you have knows how to get the best from you. By now you have met your uncles Greg and Dave and others and know what I mean.
So onto my point. We are a nation in crisis. We have a failed economy. A failed corporate America, where greed, and deregulation of key industries married to destroy economic prosperity. We have two wars, plus a globe in humanitarian failure. We have an illegal immigration problem, coupled with a disease of sloth among many of our citizens. We have a pseudo democracy as a form of Government, where money can drive the incompetent or expired into power term after term after term, and where the truly competent leaders of our generation run fleeing into private industry. We have a Government which is bloating like a corpse in the river, but where our people turn in times of crisis. And lastly, and likely the worst, we have a long outdated two-party system, which likely represents only a minority of citizens and that has disenfranchised most of the middle and lower-upper classes by representing those who are not them. So what do we do? We eat our leadership.
Now, before I continue, I want to remind you of two recurring themes to these missives. First, the Constitution is our nation's guiding beacon. There is nothing else that matters, and the measure of a nation is how it behaves in light of this document, when the chips are down. Second, critical thought is a key factor in your success in life. When people bring you ideas, you must always consider them carefully before making a decision. Life is about the choices you make, and not the crap you acquire. Therefore, always look at what is in it for all involved and not just what will you get out of it.
So, let's look at our current state. The far right would tell you that our current leader is to blame. That he is evil and that he is trying to indoctrinate our children. (I would say that we could do a better job of indoctrinating our children into being a little more pro patria). The right would argue that his programs are socialist. That his behavior is driven by racial motives, or that he represents the interests of terrorists. All of those things and more have made it to Fox News. And been spoken by Republican leadership.
On the other hand, our more liberal representatives would blame our current crisis on the former President. They would focus on the last administration, and attempt to evade any criticism for their own significant failings as the Congress who deregulated housing, a key market driver in a society which produces nothing (seriously son, our country produces exactly nothing, except services, porn and some other useless crap - everything else comes from Asia - Thanks Unions!) The left will push issues the nation is likely not ready for while hiding behind a black man shouting "racist" at every critic of his administration.
So where is the solution? I suspect if your mother and I are still in this country as you reach adulthood, the solution is like everything else. In moderation. The reality is that the truth is in the middle, and yes, it shall set you free.
Is our President socialist? Perhaps more so than we are used to. Socialist in the sense of post-depression activities like welfare, and food stamps, but perhaps to a more significant degree. However, this guy inherited a train wreck from his predecessor, and this train had the brakes release before President GW Bush took office. Wanna blame someone? There are plenty of targets to go around.
Does that make him evil? A guy named McCarthy say around called all of the people in Hollywood "Communists". Were they? Probably not. Did it make them evil? No. Was McCarthy an ass? Yep, but was he evil? No. We just arrested a guy who locked up three women in his back yard for over 18 years. He was evil. I watched two towers collapse in New York, on live television, while those below and above died. That was evil. Giving healthcare to poor people? I don't like it but it is far from evil.
Do we need socialism of the core providers like healthcare, the auto industry and banking? I suspect not. However, the systems as they are today are screwed up. They fail to provide to the masses. They fail to provide, even for those who can afford to pay. Period. I almost had to pay $6,000 in medical bills for you my boy, because the insurance company put a check in a box where there should be no check. But this is not a reason to Federalize these services (For the record calling these services socialized or Socialist is a great term to inflame thanks to 40 years of the Cold War - Just ask Charlie McCarthy)
Should we just figure it all out without the taxpayer "buying" the failures? I am sure we should - But I didn't get elected on 11/4/2008. So you know what? I am not sure these are the solutions, but the people have spoken. Therefore those who oppose have two choice, really. Wait until 11/4/2012 and make some changes, or take up arms against the tyranny of a Government to be unjust. I suppose there is a third option, but it is unpopular. Step up to the plate, and go to their congressman. Get involved. Take a real stand but without hiding behind the bitter rhetoric of ratings whores. Better still - volunteer to help children who are without because of lazy parents to become more than their parents accomplished. Help those who cannot help themselves to become better so that someday they will help those who are in need.
Did our congress screw up? Definitely. Was our former president out of his depth? Sure was. Is our current one? Maybe. However, I will say this one important thing. It is easy to be an armchair president. It is easy to second guess. Those who take that job likely have some personality quirks that I don't care for, but most importantly, I know I don't want the job. In our immature culture, it is too easy to sit back though, and say I don't want the job, and still bitch about the job the guy is doing. Another lesson from my friends from the British Army - "Any cunt can criticize." (Sorry readers, you may find this objectionable, but I do so love the 1st Amendment.) This phrase is as applicable to a light infantry platoon making mistakes as it is to leading a nation. We will make mistakes - these guys have to figure out how to fix them.
A last question for you. Do we in the middle and lower-upper classes live in a bubble? We definitely do. As you get older, I encourage you to see the worst parts of this great land. While our pundits shout down opposition, many of them have never spent real time with a family whose house burned to the ground after they lost insurance, after the husband lost a job, because we have to more industry. I found a house not far from where we live, where the two women who lived there were descendants of slaves, and had never bought property of their own. They were evicted, when the owner of the property, whose grandparents had invited the slave family to stay in the home on the property after the emancipation proclamation. Before you were born, I had coffee with a man whose home had been blown apart except for the one remaining room, where he lived, until he could rebuild. And he paid for the coffee. My point is that while we shout at each other, write checks to charity and drive our German cars around, we keep a blind eye to the Mexican woman who cleans our hotel rooms, or the dirty white kid who washes our car. Or even to the World War II veteran who served his four years fighting Nazis and liberating nations, but today has to split his pills in half, because the job he worked for decades lost his pension funds and now finds himself on limited income, but too proud to take Government assistance. Go out son, and meet these people, for they are where the truth lies. Great Americans who work so their children can see a brighter future.
When we look beyond this bubble and realize that "There but for the Grace of God Go I," we realize quickly that we must find a national solution. That while the guy who is in charge is in the elected position authorized by our founding documents, that he is in charge. That it is time to shut up and march and shoot and fight like hell to get through this, and that your dissent is past critical thought and that both sides are being cunty (Thanks Color Sergeant Mick, I will never forget this lesson, though I have forgotten your last name). It is frankly time for sacrifice. To pick up and fight, and to get this nation back to where it should be. And frankly a place for my many friends to realize that the other side is not entirely wrong and that their own side is not entirely right, but rather that the solution will only be found when we can sit down at the table, over some beers, and discuss - without name calling - the facts and the objectives. And perhaps in the morning through hangovers we will find that our sight pictures are a little more crisp as the fog lifts, and those who are on our left and right sides are a little more close to brethren and a little farther from being the enemy.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms - An idiot's guide
Son,
By the time you read this, you will likely have been given my pellet rifle, and probably my old .22 rifle. I got a version of this same pellet rifle when I was 6 (it was the 1776 commemorative issue when I got mine) and the .22 I got when I was 8. It came with lessons in responsibility, safety and common sense, but most of all it came with a little fear - which in the case of a firearm is a good idea. Hopefully, as you read this, you will look back on our times target shooting - the patience, the skill, the perfect shot - and you will have come away with some basic lessons, like -
- Never point it at anything you aren't willing to destroy
- Always treat a firearm like it is loaded, even when you are 99% sure it isn't
- Once the bullet is fired, you can never, ever put it back and you can never repair what it destroys.
But on the other hand, there is nothing like the power, the adrenaline, and the release of firing a weapon. The skill it takes to hit targets; the power of holding a controlled explosion - All of it pretty much develops a confidence which few other events can develop. You truly hold life and death in your hands and it is a power and responsibility which should never be taken lightly.
In our country we have the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of these United States. In it, it attempts to preserve the right to keep and bear arms, a phrase consistently abused, stretched and tormented by the gun lobby and the manufacturers, as well as a few extreme members of our society. Over the years, regulators have tried to take away rights, limit rights and even take guns from the hands of their owners. While I suspect they will never accomplish this, a few extremists went over the top and placed these rights onto a slippery slope into a shredder by being foolish in the eyes of the international press, and the local anti-gun lobbyist.
During a recent "Town Hall Meeting" - Republican speak for opportunity to scream and Liberal speak for chance to spin the truth, members of the Arizona community came to the meeting armed - carrying assault rifles slung over their shoulder. This was done under Arizona's Open Carry law which permits residents of the state to carry a loaded firearm in the open, without being concealed. I suppose the logic is that the bearer of the weapon is letting everyone know he is carrying so others can leave him alone. I can find only a half dozen lessons here for you to take away with you.
First, remember this - Just because you have a right, doesn't mean you have to exercise it. People who abuse these privileges mock the very purpose behind the law. I suspect that the intent of this law was to help farmers who were trying to deter coyotes from taking livestock, and it has been bastardized to this purpose
Second, if you are the strongest man on the beach, someone will try and test you. Similarly the guy with the assault rifle is only a bad day away from someone trying to take it from him. And any fool who wears a shiny assault rifle on his shoulder is sure to have it taken from him.
Third, firearms kill indiscriminately. Combustion, velocity, friction, momentum, and a variety of factors weigh in to determine where the round goes after it leaves the chamber. Carrying an assault rifle in public is not for self-defense - It is a show. And if that carrier shoots someone in a crowd, they will likely kill the person behind the target. Remember, you cannot control where the bullet stops, and who it kills along the way.
Last, and most importantly, our founding fathers felt reasonable men (and women) could arrive at a conclusion through open discourse. The 2nd Amendment was not designed to end arguments. Bringing a firearm to open debate closes the discussion through fear - exactly the type of despotic influence we have fought since 1774, and which we shall always continue to fight. Tyranny through force is never the solution, especially within our own borders. And for this reason, these extremists have placed our collective rights in jeopardy through their abuse of rights.
I hope this is valuable, and I hope someday, you will look at your son, across the range, knocking holes out of the 10-ring while you teach him these same lessons of responsibility. Know that our nation was founded on certain beliefs and we must sustain these without distortion and abuse.
By the time you read this, you will likely have been given my pellet rifle, and probably my old .22 rifle. I got a version of this same pellet rifle when I was 6 (it was the 1776 commemorative issue when I got mine) and the .22 I got when I was 8. It came with lessons in responsibility, safety and common sense, but most of all it came with a little fear - which in the case of a firearm is a good idea. Hopefully, as you read this, you will look back on our times target shooting - the patience, the skill, the perfect shot - and you will have come away with some basic lessons, like -
- Never point it at anything you aren't willing to destroy
- Always treat a firearm like it is loaded, even when you are 99% sure it isn't
- Once the bullet is fired, you can never, ever put it back and you can never repair what it destroys.
But on the other hand, there is nothing like the power, the adrenaline, and the release of firing a weapon. The skill it takes to hit targets; the power of holding a controlled explosion - All of it pretty much develops a confidence which few other events can develop. You truly hold life and death in your hands and it is a power and responsibility which should never be taken lightly.
In our country we have the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of these United States. In it, it attempts to preserve the right to keep and bear arms, a phrase consistently abused, stretched and tormented by the gun lobby and the manufacturers, as well as a few extreme members of our society. Over the years, regulators have tried to take away rights, limit rights and even take guns from the hands of their owners. While I suspect they will never accomplish this, a few extremists went over the top and placed these rights onto a slippery slope into a shredder by being foolish in the eyes of the international press, and the local anti-gun lobbyist.
During a recent "Town Hall Meeting" - Republican speak for opportunity to scream and Liberal speak for chance to spin the truth, members of the Arizona community came to the meeting armed - carrying assault rifles slung over their shoulder. This was done under Arizona's Open Carry law which permits residents of the state to carry a loaded firearm in the open, without being concealed. I suppose the logic is that the bearer of the weapon is letting everyone know he is carrying so others can leave him alone. I can find only a half dozen lessons here for you to take away with you.
First, remember this - Just because you have a right, doesn't mean you have to exercise it. People who abuse these privileges mock the very purpose behind the law. I suspect that the intent of this law was to help farmers who were trying to deter coyotes from taking livestock, and it has been bastardized to this purpose
Second, if you are the strongest man on the beach, someone will try and test you. Similarly the guy with the assault rifle is only a bad day away from someone trying to take it from him. And any fool who wears a shiny assault rifle on his shoulder is sure to have it taken from him.
Third, firearms kill indiscriminately. Combustion, velocity, friction, momentum, and a variety of factors weigh in to determine where the round goes after it leaves the chamber. Carrying an assault rifle in public is not for self-defense - It is a show. And if that carrier shoots someone in a crowd, they will likely kill the person behind the target. Remember, you cannot control where the bullet stops, and who it kills along the way.
Last, and most importantly, our founding fathers felt reasonable men (and women) could arrive at a conclusion through open discourse. The 2nd Amendment was not designed to end arguments. Bringing a firearm to open debate closes the discussion through fear - exactly the type of despotic influence we have fought since 1774, and which we shall always continue to fight. Tyranny through force is never the solution, especially within our own borders. And for this reason, these extremists have placed our collective rights in jeopardy through their abuse of rights.
I hope this is valuable, and I hope someday, you will look at your son, across the range, knocking holes out of the 10-ring while you teach him these same lessons of responsibility. Know that our nation was founded on certain beliefs and we must sustain these without distortion and abuse.
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