Grumpa Joe's Place

The more I read arguments by various factions within our country the more convinced I am that Americans have lost the ability to compromise. This morning I opted to read the Freedom Fighter published by the NRA. Of course the opinion pieces all targeted why we should continue to own guns. My stance on that is they are right. I have owned a gun since age fourteen when my older brother, then in the army, gifted me with a Winchester .22 caliber rifle.

I had a lot of fun with that rifle, as did my family. Whenever we had a family gathering at my parent’s farm we used the rifle in a competition. It was all in fun, and my brother, brother-in-law, and I taught our kids the rules of gun safety. I am a firm believer in gun ownership, and the Second Amendment. I don’t think my pea shooter will go far against an army destined to put me down when I rebel against a tyrannical government, but I will die fighting for my rights.

Reading the arguments for and against gun ownership caused me to think of the splits in out country. All of us has something we believe in and we are all right. None of us believes the other guy is correct. None of us believes the other guy will compromise on any of our rights. The rights of people who believe in guns is as strong as the right of the person who believes no one should own a gun. There are other divides among us, like the current head to head clash between Christians and Muslims. Both groups believe there is but one God, but both believe their God is the right one, even though God is the same Being. Both groups believe their belief is the only one. Another major split is in our beliefs of government systems. Liberals want to be controlled by government while Conservatives believe in very limited government, and the arguments go one, but there is no compromise. The worst split is between those who believe in the rule of law and those who believe they should ignore any law that they think is stupid, like borders, and illegal immigration.

I truly believe that these people are all right. Not all of us are bad, but our belief systems collide. What then, is the answer?

The US Constitution is the controlling doctrine. It is the one compelling set of truths that has the power to neutralize all the dividing factions among us. Except of course those who don’t think the Constitution has any meaning. The result is that we will be fighting against each other endlessly. Hopefully, the country will hold together while we sort things out.

When President Obama took office in 2008, and all the liberal liberals appeared from nowhere I predicted the country would end the argument in civil war. We are having that civil war now. We are not shooting yet, but the arguments to take our guns away are a way to neutralize our ability to win the war.

Filed under: Conservative, family, Government, Society | Tagged: constitution, Division, guns, Second Amendment | 2 Comments »