(c) Point On Point 2010
By Joe Granato - aka Uncle Joe (1960-2010)
GUN RIGHTS COME WITH RESPONSIBITY
2010 AD: The Season Of Generation
Choicemaker Joel 3:14
By Jim Baxter - Listener Editorial
I landed at Nagasaki with the 2nd Marine Division in the original occupation
of Japan following World War II. This time every year, I have watched and
listened to the light-hearted "peaceniks" and their light-headed
symbolism-without-substance of ringing bells, flying pigeons, floating
candles, and sonorous chanting and I recall again that "Peace is not a
cause - it is an effect."
In July, 1945, my fellow 8th RCT Marines [I was an ARman] and I returned to
Saipan following the successful conclusion of the Battle of Okinawa. We were
issued new equipment and replacements joined each outfit in preparation for
our coming amphibious assault on the home islands of Japan.
B-29 bombing had leveled the major cities of Japan, including Kobe, Osaka,
Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka, and Tokyo.
We were informed we would land three Marine divisions and six Army
divisions, perhaps abreast, with large reserves following us in. It was
estimated that it would cost half a million casualties to subdue the
Japanese homeland.
In August, the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima but the Japanese government
refused to surrender. Three days later a second A-bomb was dropped on the
city of Nagasaki. The Imperial Japanese government finally surrendered.
Following the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese admiral said, "I
fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." Indeed, they had.
Not surprisingly, the atomic bomb was produced by a free people functioning
in a free environment. Not surprisingly because the creative process is a
natural human choice-making process and inventiveness occurs most readily
where choice-making opportunities abound. America!
Tamper with a giant, indeed! Tyrants, beware: Free men are nature's pit
bulls of Liberty! The Japanese learned the hard way what tyrants of any
generation should know: Never start a war with a free people - you never
know what they may invent!
As a newly assigned member of a U.S. Marine intelligence section, I
had a unique opportunity to visit many major cities of Japan, including
Tokyo and Hiroshima, within weeks of their destruction. For a full year I
observed the beaches, weapons, and troops we would have assaulted had
the A-bombs not been dropped. Yes, it would have been very destructive
for all, but especially for the people of Japan.
When we landed in Japan, for what came to be the finest and most humane
occupation of a defeated enemy in recorded history, it was with great
appreciation, thanksgiving, and praise for the atomic bomb team, including
the aircrew of the Enola Gay. A half million American homes had been spared
the Gold Star flag, including, I'm sure, my own.
Whenever I hear the apologists expressing guilt and shame for A-bombing and
ending the war Japan had started (they ignore the cause-effect relation
between Pearl Harbor and Nagasaki), I have noted that neither the effete
critics nor the puff-adder politicians are among us in the assault
landing-craft or the stinking rice paddies of their suggested alternative,
"conventional" warfare. Stammering reluctance is obvious and continuous, but
they do love to pontificate about the Rights that others, and the Bomb, have
bought and preserved for them.
The vanities of ignorance and camouflaged cowardice abound as license for
the assertion of virtuous "rights" purchased by the blood of others - those
others who have borne the burden and physical expense of Rights whining
apologists so casually and self-righteously claim.
At best, these fakers manifest a profound and cryptic ignorance of causal
relations, myopic perception, and dull I.Q. At worst, there is a word and
description in The Constitution defining those who love the enemy more than
they love their own countrymen and their own posterity. Every Yankee Doodle
Dandy knows what that word is.
In 1945, America was the only nation in the world with the Bomb and it
behaved responsibly and respectfully. It remained so until two among us
betrayed it to the Kremlin. Still, this American weapon system has been the
prime deterrent to earth's latest model world- tyranny: Seventy years of
Soviet collectivist definition, coercion, and domination of individual human
beings.
The message is this: Trust Freedom. Remember, tyrants never learn. The
restriction of Freedom is the limitation of human choice, and choice is the
fulcrum-point of the creative process in human affairs. As earth's
choicemaker, it is our human identity on nature's beautiful blue planet and
the natural premise of man's free institutions, environments, and respectful
relations with one another. Made in the image of our Creator, free men
choose, create, and progress - or die.
Free men should not fear the moon-god-crowd oppressor nor choose any of his
ways. Recall with a confident Job and a victorious David, "Know ye not you
are in league with the stones of the field?"
Semper F
On April 19 1775 a group of 44 American citizens stood on the green in Lexington Mass. With there military styled assault rifles and took on the most power military in the world at that time. They stood to defend there homes and family against what they thought was a grave threat. When the smoke cleared most of them ran off scared. Some lay on the ground dead and some wounded. No one knows who fired the 1st shot, some same the Redcoats did, some say the Militia did, I think now it really does not matter. What the most important part of this story is these men stood up for what they believed was a right and just cause. Most people today would agree they stood up and died for the freedoms we have today. I would say thats true for the most part, but those men and the others that stood at Concord Bridge a little while later were fighting for the freedom to keep and bear arms. If you read and know your history, you would know that General Gage marched out of Boston that morning to seize and confiscate the firearms and gunpowder the citizens were storing at both Lexington and Concord. They dont teach this anymore because its not politically correct.
We can spend the next 200 years talking about the good, the bad and the ugly of gun control. The major point here is the Bill of Rights states it very clear that we as citizens of this here United States have the right to own a firearm, if you don't believe me look it up and you can even Google it!
Bill of Rights Amendment 2. "A well regulated Militia being necessary for the security of a free state, The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Copyright 1783 all rights reserved. If you don't like that version, you can also look up a Supreme Court Ruling in Heller vs. District of Columbia 2008. There is no doubt about it we all have the right to own a gun.
I was first going to talk about the next big case, about your right to own an gun that is now sitting in the Supreme Court now, where the City of Chicago - like the city of Washington DC had denied the citizens their Constitutional rights to own firearms. The question, does the Constitution apply to the States or just the Federal Government? If it just applies to Federal Government, does that mean the state or local police kick down your door with out a warrant? What if the City of Los Angles decided they could stop any protest of any kind because they didn't like what it was about, or if it was against a decision they made? Remember if the Supreme Court says the City of Chicago can ban guns because the Constitution does not apply to the States, how long do you think it will take for States to start kicking doors down and taking away the rest of the Bill of Rights from us. There's one for you to think about.
Exercising your right to walk into Bob's Gun Store and buy a gun is one thing, (of course you must pass the background check and wait the waiting period) but the most important thing that goes along with that gun as you walk out the door, is called responsibility and duty. You have a responsibility and duty to you your family, your neighborhood and everybody else to learn how to use your firearm safely and effectively.
Learn the basics.
There are thousands of certified NRA firearm instructors out there, and there are hundreds of shooting schools you can also attend. My suggestion is to ask where you can get some training prior to purchasing. Back at Bob's Gun Store is a great place to start. I bet they know a few people who can teach you how to use the gun of your choice. If they don't, then pick up the phone and call the NRA, they'd be happy to give you contact information of instructors in your area, and of course there's always the internet. Get as much training as you can afford, and practice. The more you practice, the better you get, and the more responsible you become. It can also be a lot of fun.
Guns are part of our American history and culture. I found a lot of people who come to America and become citizens, one of the first things they do is buy a gun. Owning a firearm is the right that put teeth into the other rights we have. A rifle in the hands of a person turns a subject into a citizen. Not too may places in the world can you freely own a gun. The late Charlton Heston said "If you want to feel the pulse of liberty and the heart of freedom you will find it in no better place then in that blue steel and wood stock we call a firearm". Without this right, we can only hope for mercy.
