WHY AMERICANS ARE FREE TODAY..!

[foodchain]

To be fair....People are by general more herd animals....like sheep. There are sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. The wolves will always come, sometimes in the night, sometimes at day...but they come. It's thier nature...they prey on the weak, physically weak and weak minded. The sheep aren't oblivous, they see what happens, but go back to grazing and chewing cud. The sheepdog on the other hand gets rather upset when the scent of a wolf or other sign is present. In people, the sheepdog is prone to certain personalities...I beleive more type A people...but that's just my opinion. In any event, the sheepdog stands the ground in defense of the sheep...regardless of how many wolves come, for it's only the sheepdog between the wolf and the sheep. When the wolves are at my door....I will answer, no need to knock twice. Will anyone else?

You have to remember....911 is just minutes away, when seconds count. I have seen both what wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs can do. Every combat soldier or officer that has ever seen real combat has. But we have also seen what the sheepdog can do.
Most if not all that have seen what the current issueing of the 5.56 round will do to flesh. And why it's one of the most inhuman rounds we have carried. For instead of killing, it cripples and mames it's targets.

[keith_r]

well.. i know most folks don't agree with me..
but it should be harder to get a drivers license..and to keep one
it should be harder to get a gun,,, and to keep it..

hell,, i think people should have to get license (go to classes, pass a test etc) to have kids.. maybe we wouldn't be in this mess
my kids had metal detectors at their school....

i just think some "rights" need to be earned by the individual..

[commander]

If you have ever read Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" (an seeing the movie doesn't count, sorry) you can remember that in this book he sets forth one of his own personal fundamental beliefs. In the book you learn that anyone can earn their "franchise" or the right to vote, hold office, and perform other public services. To earn your franchise own had to volunteer to serve in one of the public branches of service, most notably the military. Only by having honorably served could one exercise the other privileges of holding a franchise in the government and the country. Several countries around the world have a system close to this. Israel and Switzerland are the two that come to mind.

The decision not to earn your franchise certainly limits your opportunities but it makes it a personal choice.

[foodchain]

IF it's earned, it has value.

[Kim]

One of Heinlein's other books, Beyond This Horizon, had another scenario, where if you went out in public armed, then you were taking on the whole responsibility of it. If you offended or were rude to another armed person, then a duel was not only legal but commonplace, with the injured or dead 'loser' having no way to use the courts to enact vengeance...because the risk is assumed when you arm yourself. I could see the people of a society like that being very, very polite.

Of course those who went about unarmed were different...it wasn't permissible for armed folk to attack them, but they had more rules about what behavior was allowed, at least while they were unarmed. The book itself was so-so, but I always find Heinlein's portrayals of different types of societies fascinating. Though I'm not sure I'd embrace that one, hehe.

Back on topic, though, accidents are going to happen. Tragic, and you do your best to limit them, but you can't stop them entirely. If the natural inclination after every accident is to wrap the cause up in laws and regulations, pretty soon we would have no freedom left in our choices or actions. Raw milk? Airplane security? Vitamins? Health Insurance? All things that our leaders feel they can make better decisions about than we poor stupid people. For our own good, of course. Guns are the same way. Yes, some people shouldn't have guns. But our country was founded on revolution, and part of what those people were emphatic about was that we citizens have the right to stand up to our government if it becomes tyrannical. Yes, normal self-defense too, but nighttime burglaries weren't the driving force behind the 2nd amendment. Governments stripping their citizenry of their weapons and then waging war on a population that's unable to fight back anymore...that sounds a little closer to what's been documented. And we as citizens might be able to have guns still, but not of the same potential as our law enforcement or military. There are some serious, alarming issues concerning the US Gov't, and the efforts to disarm its citizens is only one of them.

Not meaning to rant it's just nice to find people who say things I find myself nodding in agreement with.

Edit - and when Heinlein was mentioned, I had to speak up!

[commander]

If you are a Heinlein fan, you can borrow my soap box to rant on anytime!

[urbanfarmer]

The right to... BEAR ARMS...

[commander]

At least it wasn't bear butt

[Kim]

If you are a Heinlein fan, you can borrow my soap box to rant on anytime!

Heinlein and aquaponics?? You, sir, are a kindred spirit

As for bear butt...

LINK!

[commander]

Rock On. . . .

and remember what Lazurus Long once said:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

add raise fish, worms, vegetables and crawfish in one balanced system