Future America: Love it or Leave it

Two phrases apply here. “Walk a mile in my shoes” and “There but for the Grace of God, go I”. If we simply adhere to these simple homilies that exist in our lexicon, we might go a long way to understanding how the other side feels on this issue.

 In my view, I can definitely feel the anxiety and real fear that has been expressed in the black community. My point of view is seen through the eyes of one who has never owned a gun. I don’t like guns. I took a gun out to shoot one day at some property my Grandfather owned. Not only was I uneasy pulling the trigger, imagining what could happen if a stray bullet happened to hit an animal, my fears were instantly realized as a family came immediately into the vicinity and told us their children played in the woods all the time. They were not angry, as indeed we did have a right to be on the property, but it brought home to me some simple truths.

If you don’t like guns, you don’t have to use them. If you would like to shoot guns, you may legally go to a gun range and shoot for sport. You may hunt at certain times of the year with guns. Hunting is a huge sport in our society.

I have no problem with gun enthusiasts. That used to be the term used to describe gun owners. They were gun enthusiasts. It seemed like a fun hobby. Now it is a serious business. It is not a sport. It is viewed as a God-given right to be able to strap a gun to your person and to “stand your ground”.

A man’s home is his castle. That was the view a long time ago. Now, we live in a society where there are laws. And there are lots of people crowding in around us. And there are more being born every day.

When Davy Crockett was a young man, he decided he wanted to live in the wilderness. He grew up on the frontier. The Code of the West was made up of  many courageous men and women, just like Crockett and Daniel Boone, and there were no laws in vast parts of the country.

That was then, this is now. We live in a different time and place. This is not the Wild West. My view is this: If you would like to live in a fantasy of the Wild West, then you may go to some lengths to be able to petition the government, as the Indians govern their own lands, to live in a remote area and to set up your own kingdom. If you choose to strap on a gun, to live without fire departments and police and schools and laws governing these United States, you may do so. But Please, Don’t Tread on Me.

 

We had a bloody Civil War that divided this nation. And whatever you may think, it was about Slavery. And yes, that means Race. So, now we are almost 150 years away from that conflict. Lay down your arms or leave. In 21^st Century America, the phrase should be Future America: Love it or Leave it.

 Problems and all, I’ve decided to stay and fight for the future of this great nation. You are either for us, or ‘agin us. Stand your ground, as we all must, and make your arguments. And if you feel the need to pull out a gun, you need to find another argument. Dead Men tell no tales, but their families and supporters will carry the fight into the streets. That is where we are now, and until the laws change, that is where we need to stay.