The Second Amendment

It occurs to me that the arguments about the 2nd amendment are misunderstood. People look past the words to the actions. Owning guns and what kind of guns.

Since the beginning of this country it's been stated and argued that each citizen needs to have a weapon to be part of a well armed militia; to protect themselves; to protect the citizenry against tyranny from our own government. The liberal counter to that is, there is no way the citizen in these times can protect themselves against the modern American authority. The greatest fighting forces and police forces in the world. We cannot outfight our own country's weaponry, their numbers or their tactics. So what's all this arguing about?

By merely HAVING the 2nd Amendment, we have a talking point, a rally point, a doorstop to maintaining this vigil against tyranny that is far more effective than any one (or multiple) weaponry going up against any other form of weaponry, or any citizen force of any size going up against any federal or state forces in this nation.

In that vein the Founding Fathers, or merely Thomas Jefferson, WERE brilliant. And that, is what all this noise is about the 2nd Amendment for. To think that we as citizens can stand against the American weaponized authorities, is ludicrous. However, in arguing and keeping the Second Amendment alive and flourishing, we keep alive the concepts behind that. Now, that does not mean, we need to have military weaponry in our homes. It means we need to keep alive that right to keep and bear arms. Now a days, the actual "arms" are merely bookmarks.

To keep the argument alive and therefore, to keep the American Government more in it's "place" than not. To this concept we also have the concept of State and Federal Government which is and always will be problematic. And which at this moment in time may be too heavily slighted toward the Federal. But that does not mean we should through the baby ut with the dirty bathwater. It means we need to think, to come together, to work this out in a thoughtful and not partisan, or insane, way.

As for the NRA.... I read an interesting article yesterday sitting in my dentist's office that showed how, through interviews with the parties involved, the NRA is not the mouthpiece of the gun manufacturers. Rather, things have turned around and the gun manufacturers now a days have become puppets of the NRA and outright fear their clout. Examples were given of a gun manufacturer going against the NRA's lead and the NRA striking back with moves that devastated the sales of the gun manufacturer for not lining up with the NRAs plans and actions. It is indeed the NRA who has grown to be out of control.

It is the NRA who needs to be disassembled and reconstituted. Do we need an NRA watching for protection of the Second Amendment? Or do we need a brand new organization. Or a branch of an already existing civil rights organization to take over for them and start acting like good citizens for the American welfare and not just their own agenda?

There are already several others out there who are trying to be rational, sane organizations who do believe in things like background checks. Something that most Americans want but the NRA is pushing to avoid. Even though their mouthpiece Wayne LaPierre back in the 90s suggested it himself but later switched his stance one he got blow-back by yes, you guessed it, right wing conservatives.

Whatever the answer, today it is not the NRA. They, have to go. Or grown up (or down). For they have too much power and themselves are fearful of a right wing bunch of nuts. Slowly America is coming to realize that this right wing bunch of nuts are exactly that, nuts. And bad for America. Much in  the way now that Christians are making themselves look bad on the subject of Gays, as young Americans who couldn't care less, have Gay friends (or relatives) whom they are not afraid of; every time Christians speak out against Gays, they are losing more and more Americans who DO count. Until finally, one day, this will simply become a non issue and those who speak out against Gays will be seen in the same vein as racists, sexists and the bigots they are based upon a book of myths they hold up as scientific fact.

We need to stop allowing the argument to be clouded and obfuscated, on the Second Amendment, and so much more. We are getting there. But we need to get there faster.

Pay attention, to what is really happening in America. And the next time someone starts to spew nonsense in your direction, spew some enlightenment back at them and let the others around them know what is really going on, too.