NRA exists within the Beltway. This is a fact with which both supporters and non-supporters deal. And when I said "deal" this is just what I mean. Exist inside the cesspool of D.C. and one must deal to survive.
Which for me is the root of the problem. Deals are made with very little regard for our history, the Constitution, or our rights as citizens. Success is often measured in how few of our rights are allowed to be trampled upon. Measured by this the NRA has been a huge success. Measured by any other yardstick our government and the NRA are a total loss.
It's been said that even the devil does good from time to time. It's also been said that when one sleeps with dogs one tends to get fleas. For me the question becomes whether to get into bed with the devil or to sleep with dogs.
Not really too hard to answer as I can read. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is readily available as is our Bill of Rights. Nowhere in either is a provision for negotiating any of my rights away! In fact the wording is very clear on what needs to happen should government attempt to usurp my rights.
And so I defer any criticism of the NRA as it exists. It is what it is and one can choose to support or decline to support the organization. Not my call either way.
My choice is to support nothing and nobody bargaining with my individual rights. For me there's no gray area and I'm not about to contribute support to an organization that at best claims to have slowed the loss of my rights.
Others will see things differently. I respect you and your opinions and I fully support your right to join and support the NRA. I only ask that you remember and acknowledge my admonitions when the NRA announces victory because they've won the right for you to retain the photos you took of your guns before the Gestapo arrived to collect them.
In my opinion it all comes down as to whether rights may be negotiated. For some this is acceptable. For others of us even the hint of government tampering with our rights is a call to arms. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, but there may come a time when we must decide which side we're really on.
Which for me is the root of the problem. Deals are made with very little regard for our history, the Constitution, or our rights as citizens. Success is often measured in how few of our rights are allowed to be trampled upon. Measured by this the NRA has been a huge success. Measured by any other yardstick our government and the NRA are a total loss.
It's been said that even the devil does good from time to time. It's also been said that when one sleeps with dogs one tends to get fleas. For me the question becomes whether to get into bed with the devil or to sleep with dogs.
Not really too hard to answer as I can read. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is readily available as is our Bill of Rights. Nowhere in either is a provision for negotiating any of my rights away! In fact the wording is very clear on what needs to happen should government attempt to usurp my rights.
And so I defer any criticism of the NRA as it exists. It is what it is and one can choose to support or decline to support the organization. Not my call either way.
My choice is to support nothing and nobody bargaining with my individual rights. For me there's no gray area and I'm not about to contribute support to an organization that at best claims to have slowed the loss of my rights.
Others will see things differently. I respect you and your opinions and I fully support your right to join and support the NRA. I only ask that you remember and acknowledge my admonitions when the NRA announces victory because they've won the right for you to retain the photos you took of your guns before the Gestapo arrived to collect them.
In my opinion it all comes down as to whether rights may be negotiated. For some this is acceptable. For others of us even the hint of government tampering with our rights is a call to arms. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, but there may come a time when we must decide which side we're really on.
