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Mr. Giulianelli, a visitor to the Lodge, sent this piece with the note, "This is an essay I wrote for my gun club newsletter a few years ago. It may seem a bit corny to some, but it is how I really feel in my heart." I don't find it corny at all. It clearly is heartfelt. This is one of those pieces where I don't necessarily agree with every word. But I was moved -- particularly at the ending, where he brings up a point whose implications we seriously need to consider.
There are times in our lives when we have to sit back and review what is going on around us, and consider what these events really mean. Let us indulge in a little bit of introspection and consider the following:
1) The typical person that left Europe and/or other parts of the world to find a better life for themselves and their families in the New World was of necessity a very strong willed person who was not afraid to endure some privation in order to shake off intrusive government and the denial of rights that he felt he was entitled to.
This type of person did not need big Government to take care of him. In fact, he had no Government at all. (Lucky him) What he did have was some guts, a knife and/or an axe, and a firearm. With nothing but these basic items, and a strong moral sense, went off into the wilderness and in time carved out a new life and a new nation complete with something known as a "Constitution". This document was a set of laws and guidelines that addressed the ills that made our intrepid pioneer flee his homeland in the first place.
2) Our pioneer had a very basic set of beliefs. He understood that if he did not plant, hunt, cultivate, build shelter, harvest, etc. he would go hungry, be cold, wet and probably not survive. This concept is called WORK.
He understood that there are those that do not want to "work", and will try to take the fruits of someone else's labor. When this happened, he had no problem about picking up his trusty shooting iron (which was always ready to hand, and was considered the most important item he had, because with it he could feed and protect himself and his food supply) and blow away the miscreant, be he wild animal, Indian or pond scum of his own race. This activity was applauded by all and sundry. This concept is called SELF PROTECTION.
He also understood that the tree of freedom has to be watered with blood from time to time, and when country called, he did not hesitate. This concept is called PATRIOTISM.
3) Now, it is generally accepted as gospel that our intrepid pioneer and thousands like him with their basic set of core beliefs and a very high degree of self sufficiency is the very reason why a new nation where free men can breath the air of freedom was able to emerge.
4) Let us now fast forward 200 years, and without going into detail as to how or why, let's examine the condition of our intrepid pioneer today:
a) The concept of "work". We now have a Government that says it is O.K. to refuse to work. We will pay you to sit on your duff and take drugs or drink yourself into oblivion if you call yourself "homeless" and promise to vote for those who gave you something for nothing. So now we have more "homeless" than ever before. (When I was young, we called them "Bums, Tramps, Beggars, etc.) The effect of this is that this growing segment of the population is non productive and just sucks up the hard work of others. Which is why the taxes paid by our intrepid pioneer are going up, up and away.
b)The concept of "self protection". The Government is telling us that it wants to protect us if we would only give up our nasty Guns, because "guns cause crime". (Yeah, right. Like wet streets cause rain). The effect of this is that our intrepid pioneer is disarmed, helpless in the face of an ever rising crime rate because the miscreants know they have nothing to fear.
c) The concept of "Patriotism". Surely the American people have given up the concept of Patriotism as evidenced by the disgraceful conduct of those that ran to Canada, and we elected a man who ran away to Moscow when country called during the Vietnam conflict. THIS IS OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF. (Disgusting, ain't it?)
5) What is the end effect of all this? Our intrepid pioneer is now reduced to a helpless, unarmed, bum depending on the Government to do everything for him:
a) He cannot work unless the Government provides a job for him. (Is this the same guy whose ancestors picked up an axe and a gun, and carved out a nation from the wilderness?)
b) He needs universal health care so he can go and get treated for his next drug O.D.
c) He cowers in fear when some bum wants his shoes or his teen age daughter. (Is this the same guy whose ancestors fought off marauding Indians?)
d) He cannot own property because the EPA classified his backyard as a wetland after a heavy rain.
e) He has to drive an electric car that can get all the way up to the breathtaking speed of 25 MPH because ozone Al says this will save the environment. (By the way, what is ozone Al driving?)
f) What the hell has happened to us? Is there any doubt that we have allowed big brother to gain complete control of our lives, and now instead of a free people, we find to our dismay that some third world nations have fewer restrictions on their people than we have. We are getting close to being the most controlled society in the world.
We now find our modern day Pioneer in a very similar circumstance as his ancestor was some 200 plus years ago. But today's Prioneer has a far greater problem. There is no place left to run to.
(c) Augie Giulianelli 1998.
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25 May, 1998