In this day and age many people in our society have become accustomed to placing blame for their personal problems and shortfalls on others, never willing to take personal responsibility for their own actions. They believe that if others are held accountable for their actions, then they are without fault and free to criticize, complain and protest the actions and beliefs of others that differ from their own.
           For them, it is quicker and easier to blame the police for the speeding ticket, the mechanic for the blown engine or the schools for the poor grades than to take personal responsibility for being careless, forgetful and lazy.
           Somewhere in the grand scheme of things, people must come to the hard and steadfast reality that we control our own destiny and that we are ultimately responsible for not only our own actions but also for our own personal safety and physical well-being.
           As the fight to preserve the 2nd Amendment continues, many sit back and watch. Many want to get involved but don't know how. Many are 'too busy' to actively participate. Others are counting on the hard work, sweat and tears of others to protect and save them (like has been done hundreds and hundreds of times before).
           Now is the time for everyone to step up to the plate and make an accounting of his or her values, what they believe in and what they are willing to fight for and protect. The battles are once again beginning with vicious attacks of lies, half-truths and innuendoes. If we continue to count on the few to protect the many, then we may finally be able to witness the end to the most fundamental right of all… choice!
           You don't have to like guns to believe in the individual's fundamental 'right to keep and bear arms'. This fight is more than just guns. This is a fight to protect the most precious document in American history, the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights. If the anti-gun lobby is successful in plowing under the 2nd Amendment what will prevent them from plowing under the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech and religion), 4th Amendment (illegal search and seizure), 5th Amendment (self-incrimination) or any of the other amendments.
           Our society is based on 'freedom of choice' and 'the will of the people'. In the absence of hearing what the constituency wants, many elected officials resort to one of two plans of thought… What they want or what they can sell to the special interests.
           We have been very fortunate here in Texas in the last two decades or so, in that we have had legislators that believed in the 'will of the people' and to hell with the special interests. We are in much better shape than most states because of it. This will not always be the case here in Texas or in Washington, D.C. for that matter.
           We are now at a critical crossroads in our lifetime where we are holding our 'collective fingers' in a leaking dike. The dike is about to break and there is nothing we can do to stop or prevent it unless 'society' sticks their 'collective fingers' in the dike and say NO MORE!
           In America we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Freedom is not a concept, it's reality. Many men and woman have made the ultimate sacrifice over the last two hundred years or so to ensure that America's freedom would prevail in the face of an all-out assault by those who wish to take it away from us. The biggest battle we face today is that they are not having to take our rights away from us because so many have decided not to fight and are satisfied with just giving them away.
           It would truly be a sad day to face our children and grandchildren and admit to them that we did nothing to further their freedom and gave away their rights without a fight because we didn't want to get involved or we didn't have time. The legacy you leave your children is everything. Be informed by getting involved.

Copyright © 2001 William D. (Bill) Slater, Jr. This article was published in the May/June 2001 (Vol. 5 No.3) issue of The Concealed Handgun, the official publication of the Texas Concealed Handgun Association.

This article was re-printed in the Nov./Dec. 2003 (Vol. 7 No.6) issue of The Concealed Handgun, the official publication of the Texas Concealed Handgun Association.


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