By Dan Shea
….Then there are the do-gooders. I am in my mid forties, and in each of the last few decades that I remember, I have heard the same story told in heart-felt, hand-wringing anguish- usually by people who look you deeply in the eyes to feel your “Aura” while they tell it. Each time, it is a different country- whatever the liberal darling of the month is. First it was ‘Nam, then Nicaragua, then El Salvador, et cetera, et cetera. It is always a “Good friend” of the storyteller, who was (Pick one) an aid worker for the UN, a Peace Corps volunteer, with the Red Cross, and had just come back from a hot zone. While there, walking through a destroyed village, he/she came upon an old peasant woman/ young mother cradling a dead child/ village elder, and asked “Who did this?” The reply is always “Men with Guns”, said with exaggerated emphasis on “Men” and “Guns”. Usually told slowly, with an accent. “MEHN with GOIINS”.
If there are any impressionable minds hanging around, now is the time to tell some stories about people who have successfully defended their homes and villages, because they DID have guns themselves, and were not sheep led to the slaughter of barbarians. Ask the white farmers of Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) right now if they feel like giving up their guns.
There are always going to be bad people, and there will always be bullies, whether they be 14 years old in the school yard, or governments gone out of control, or guerillas in the jungle. The answer to all of these situations is probably to avoid the crazies, but if it is unavoidable, meeting them with strength usually solves the problems. The schoolyard bully usually backs off fast from a good punch in the nose and an eyeball to eyeball understanding that he is not going to push you around. Out of control governments attacking another country respond much the same, letting them know you are willing to bomb them back to the stone age does wonders for their pugilistic intents. “Men with Guns” are apt to leave you alone if you make it clear that you can fight back.
The point? Don’t give up, don’t back off, and above all, don’t give up hope. We are moving into the enemies’ territory right now- they have held the high ground, and have abused the heck out of our Rights in the last few years.
It is not “MEHN with GOIINS” that we need to fear, it is “Leeberals with Pens”….
– Dan
| This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V3N9 (June 2000) |
