I am a veteran. I am not a democrat, nor am I a republican. I am not a liberal or a conservative. Like most people would acknowledge, if they look closely enough, I hold certain ideas that are considered liberal (e.g., would love to see universal health care, see no reason to prohibit gay marriage or contraception) and others that are decidedly conservative (e.g., I have no problem with capital punishment and believe in the second amendment). I like being thoughtful enough that I do not need a label to describe my perspective and am adult enough to handle this inconsistency; but, damn, does it lead to a rather chaotic life.
A further indication that many could see me as a conservative; I am a gun owner, licensed to carry a concealed weapon, including a firearm, and I carry a pistol everywhere it is legal for me to do so - as is my right. I do not believe that the solution to gun violence, such as seen at VT or recently in Aurora, is to ban possession of firearms. If a person is inclined to break the law by slaughtering innocent people, do we really believe that a law would prevent them from obtaining and carrying a weapon? I think our most dangerous tendency is to feel a false sense of security, to ever feel that we are truly and absolutely safe, to be oblivious to the dangers around us. In the grand scheme of things, among the general populace, these ideas probably make me sound a bit extreme.
So, what trials and tribulations? As a gun owner I am a member of several Internet gun forums. I enjoy talking and learning all I can about concealed carry and personal defense. Although I was an NRA member, I quite simply could not accept their incessant doomsday rhetoric and scenarios and fear mongering. It all came to a head for me when Wayne LaPierre, said, basically "We know Obama will destroy our second amendment freedoms because he hasn't done so yet". I do not know how you get there from here; this is the stuff of insanity.
So, when trying to read about one of my favorite topics, the use of firearms for personal defense - I am also frequently exposed to rabid, right-wing, Obama is the anti-Christ, a socialist, taking away our freedoms tirades. There is never any real data on this, no one can give much detail on any of it, just the emotional appeal to the tragedy that "Our America" is being taken away. What really amazes me is that most were seemingly all right with the 8 years of GWB, the unnecessary wars paid for on credit and an increase in the deficit fed by foolhardy tax cuts. Why wasn't the deficit a problem then? Most did not seem to mind his executive orders, his signing statements, his encroachments on our freedoms and defiance of the Constitution, yet somehow can quite clearly see those terrible events now coming true.
I have pondered long how it is that 8 yeas of GWB were cool with these freedom-loving Americans, yet 4 of Obama, with no real curtailment of freedoms that I can see, are a sign of the coming apocalypse. Oh, is it a loss of freedom to have a health care plan that provides coverage for all and enforces individual responsibility? Didn't seem so years ago. I see it as enhancing my freedom not to have to pay for the health care of those who are not covered and do not take responsibility for their own care.
I know how people react when you use the term "racism", but I have not been able to find any other explanation for this. None of these freedom-lovers seemed to care about such issues when a white redneck was in office, but are now in complete terror when a black intellectual is in office. Can it be that, just at a time when the census tells us that white Americans are not the majority of births in the country, the election of a black president ignited some primal fear, such a fear that he need only be black to be a threat?
So, I try to read the forums, looking for interesting tips and ideas on how to protect myself and my loved ones in dangerous times. I wish dearly there were a good, second amendment organization that did not push thoughtful gun owners away. I try not to wander into those zones where I realize that I am wading in a cesspool among a bunch of people who ignored 8 years of Bush/Cheney power-grabbing, but now see themselves in a cosmic battle of good v. evil.
It ain't easy!
