I am an NRA member but will never be a Life member to any organization. All organizations can lose their way, and the only way to keep them in check is to leave if need be.
I’m a Life Member of the AMA (the motorcyclists, not the doctors); but only because they award it to you after 25 years of paid membership.
I agree with you about buying life memberships ‘up-front’, though.
So, after the horse is out the barn, you are going to do what? It is far better to exert force on an organization from the inside rather than crying on the outside.
The NRA is our last and only hope to preserve the 2nd Amendment. Support it in every and any way that you can.