Posted on 03/28/2018 8:44:39 AM PDT by Liberty7732
I’ve never been interested in guns. I grew up with guns. I went hunting. I own a gun. But I have no real interest in them as many of my friends and family do, who will talk my ears off about guns in much the same way many talk about cars or fishing or football.
I’ve never been a member of the NRA. Never sent them a dime. When I was a lonely conservative in a sea of liberals while working at daily newspapers in the ’80s and ’90s, I had an NRA bumper sticker posted in my cubicle for everyone to see. But that was just to drive my colleagues bananas, which it did along with the Ten Commandments plaque.
However, I’ve long understood the Second Amendment. It is clear it was the Second to buttress the First when there were eight other slots for it in the Bill of Rights. The framers considered the right to bear arms as both the natural right of humans for self defense and as a last line of defense against a government intent on destroying the rights enumerated in the First Amendment and the rest of the Constitution. A well-armed citizenry is very difficult for a tyrannical government to subjugate.
The National Rifle Association is the nation’s preeminent defender of the Second Amendment. I sometimes have thought they were too rigid in their slippery slope concept, but generally supported what they did. I just never joined.
I can’t really explain why. It’s certainly not any antipathy towards guns. It’s not any misunderstanding that the Second Amendment is about hunting. Perhaps, it was partially as a single-income family with eight children — I’m a lifelong tightwad. But really, 20 years ago, surrounded by newsroom liberals and fighting those battles on every issue, perhaps even I didn’t want to be painted as an “extremist” on just one issue.
All that has changed.
Watching the now abusive nature of the militant and dangerous part of the left in this country, willing to use emotionally traumatized teens to further their autocratic government agenda to weaken this indispensable American right, it’s become clear that the NRA, and as importantly, its membership, is a bulwark against the further diminution of American civil liberties.
This is a straightforward response to the wild and irresponsible reactionary Left since the Parkland shootings. From the vicious attacks on NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch at the CNN “townhall” and afterwards, to the abusive use of emotional teens to pursue a radical leftist agenda by professional activist organizations such as the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter, to the Democrats smelling another opportunity to regain power — their issue du jour — I realized that the NRA has become one of the indispensable front lines of defense for Americans and our ultimate ability to defend ourselves against attackers and our rights against a coercive government.
The NRA’s actions are about more than just gun rights. They are about the rest of the Constitution, too. They suffer the slings and arrows and absorb the blows that the Progressive Left and their propagandists in the traditional media would otherwise be aiming at individual, traditional Americans.
They form a front line of defense and they can rally a deep reservoir of traditionalist Americans like few other groups. While their focus is Second Amendment, their impact is much broader and far reaching.
At its core, the NRA is a civil rights organization. Sure, the media and rest of the Left will scoff at that. But then they consider Al Sharpton and the Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights leaders. So they obviously don’t understand actual civil rights. But that is exactly the role the NRA is now playing in our country: Defender of American civil rights. And it may be one of the most indispensible such organizations out there because of its focus on the amendment that acts as a fists-up defense of all the others.
So if the NRA has been defending the Right that is the last-line defense for all other Rights — which is essentially what the NRA has been doing for the past 100 years, but much more so in recent decades — then the reality is that their only real extremism is in defense of liberty. And as Barry Goldwater said: “Moderation in the protection of liberty is no virtue; extremism in the defense of freedom is no vice.”
What’s may be most meaningful about the NRA is that, unlike many leftist groups funded by the likes of George Soros, its strength is not in its money, whether through campaign contributions or other promotions. The NRA has donated less than $4 million to congressional races in the past 20 years. That is essentially a rounding error in the total amount spent on congressional races in that time. Even the liberal Vox has figured this out and reported it honestly when talking about the donations to Sen. John Cornyn, who is one of the top recipients with $30,000 since 2002:
“But it was a drop in his much bigger ocean of donations. In 2014 he raised $14 million, including $57,000 from Exxon alone. The NRA was nowhere near his top 15 biggest donor contributors. All of the money the NRA has given Cornyn for more than a decade might pay for about 1 percent of his fundraising for one election cycle — and Cornyn is one of the biggest recipients of NRA cash in Congress.
No. It’s strength is in its people, in the millions of members that it bands together to protect this essential right that the framers raised up to second in line. These members vote in high numbers and they vote heavily on this issue. That is where the NRA’s power comes from — the power of democracy in action by an activated electorate.
But knowing all this, I still had not joined. Until now. Watching the now abusive nature of the militant and dangerous left in this country, willing to use emotionally traumatized teens to further their autocratic government agenda to weaken this indispensable American right, it’s become clear that the NRA, and as importantly, its membership, is a bulwark against the further diminution of American civil liberties.
And for that great and noble cause, today I’ve joined the NRA.
In HS we could pick up a mid 60’s Impala for a couple of hundred and drove the hell out of them. They were just used cars at the time, who knew they’d be worth big $$$ now. My dad had a 59 Impala convertible with a 348, nothing short of a Corvette could outrun it. I saw one similar to his on Barret Jackson, after 3 minutes of bidding sold for $105k.
We have to fight the Progs and the Fudds on “our own side” at the same time...
A new generation of pro-2nd Amendment men and women who been thru the crucible of war are coming of age and leadership...Encourage the young, and recruit, recruit, recruit...
Happy to have you back...
NRA Patron...
Joined for first time about 3 weeks ago. Never felt the need to before
There are all kinds of groups lobbying against your Second Amendment rights, including many organizations related to medical work (because of their PC indoctrination in universities). That’s who its important to join organizations like the NRA and to defend your rights by corresponding with legislators about every related bill.
Police Departments & Fraternal Group Oppose ‘2nd Amendment Preservation Act’ (including sheriff’s departments).
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/police-departments-fraternal-group-oppose-2nd-amendment-preservation-act-0
[Little typo correction here.]
There are all kinds of groups lobbying against your Second Amendment rights, including many organizations related to medical work (because of their PC indoctrination in universities). That’s why its important to join organizations like the NRA and to defend your rights by corresponding with legislators about every related bill.
Police Departments & Fraternal Group Oppose ‘2nd Amendment Preservation Act’ (including sheriff’s departments).
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/police-departments-fraternal-group-oppose-2nd-amendment-preservation-act-0
Absolutely agreed
Crazy stuff. My first Car was a 55 Chevy 210 Wagon, a two door. I’ve only seen a few two door Wagons like it. Seen a bunch of Nomads, but only a few 210’s.
Bought it for $125 and sold it for $300. It took the guy a year to pay me off. LOL
I had a 70 Torino GT, Shaker Hood 351 with a 4 speed. Turns out there weren’t that many made and they are now starting to take off on the Auction Market. Biggest rattle trap I’ve ever owned.
Oh well, back them they were just Cars. I’ve had them all and I missed out on a few gems. The one that got away was a 69 Shelby GT-350H. Long story and it haunts me to this day, over 40 Years later. My Wife tells me to let it go every time it comes up in conversation.
My older Brother still owns the 32 Ford 5 Window Deuce Coupe he got when he was 17 Years Old. He’s 71 now and the Car just sits in his Garage buried in Boxes. :(
Shelby GT350H, the Hertz “rent a racer” about 1000 were made, did you happen to sell that car to someone in northern NJ? Saw one at a car at Ramapo College years ago.
No, I never got to buy the Car.
Back in 1974 a guy my Dad knew was a Used Car Dealer. He would buy Cars and partner with my Dad on some Cars that he would fix and repair to resell. They split the profit.
He calls my Dad and tells him he has the GT 350 For Sale and he wants $2,000. My Dad calls me thinking I would want it and I call the guy telling him I would buy it sight unseen the next day.
I worked Graveyard Shift and I was going to hit the Bank in the morning to get the money. He says great, see you then.
I get off work the next morning and go home. I call him to say I’m on my way to the Bank and I’ll be there right after.
He proceeds to tell me he sold the Car the night before. I’m pissed and say what, I thought we had a deal?
He says, well, the guy showed up cash in hand and I took it. (typical Used Car Salesman) That was that. I never talked to the SOB again. I don’t think my Father ever did another deal with him either.
Decades later and I’m still pissed, but the reality is I probably would have driven it for a while and resold it like I did many other Cars over the years.
Now that I’m an old geezer, I am starting to think I want a Clone or a Restomod. You know, reliving my youth.
The originals are way too expensive and I want a cool looking comfortable and dependable Driver with a nice newer powerful Engine. One of these days...
Still haven’t narrowed down what I might eventually get. One day I’m thinking a 68/69 Mustang, the next a 69 Plymouth Roadrunner, the next a 68/69 Dodge Charger and of course that Black 67 Impala SS.
One other thing, my Mother had a 59 Cadillac Coupe Deville. She didn’t like the color and it was having some mechanical problems so my Father got her a 63 Cadillac Coupe Deville. I took my driving test in that 19 foot long boat. LOL
Yeah, would love to have either one of those Caddies. Heck, we had a 56 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible when I was a kid. It was a mechanical nightmare and my Dad ended up hating that Car, but I can’t even imagine what it would be worth nowadays, restored or not.
Man oh man, I just ramble on...
I have generally been reluctant to be a joiner. I did support FreeRepublic. I decided to join the NRA when Obama became president. I reupped this year after Parkland.
I hear ya. Back in the 70’s I had a 65 Buick Skylark, 2 door post. The first time I lived in Tampa the U-pull-it by the Causeway had a wrecked Gran Sport. I was in the process of making a GS clone out of mine when the timing chain slipped. It was the 300 cu in engine, damn good motor, but it had the plastic timing gears which were prone to wear out prematurely. I was so POed I got it to my brother in law’s garage, backfiring through the carb and barely running and told him to give me $20 for it and get it the BLEEP out of my sight. To this day whenever I come across a 60’s era Skylark or GS I kick myself. But I’m happy with the 64.
I learned to drive on my Dad’s 1962 Pontiac Catalina. He sold it to our mechanic when the trans crapped out, the early Hydramatics were prone to overheating. He fixed it up mechanically then the body shop next door had it. I found out years later that car was not only nicely restored but was actually used in a couple of scenes from The Wanderers which was shot in daBronx. One of the scenes it was parked on Holland Av. a few blocks from my grandparents house.
Amazing how inaccurate the leftist caricature of the NRA is.
I had an NRA membership years ago, before I even owned a gun. Then I quit them over something that I can’t remember. They were impure on some issue I thought was important at the time. I really should rejoin, and now would be a good time.
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