The Rifleman  

Maybe some of you can relate to this story I heard recently.

I called an old friend - his state doesn’t matter - and in the course of talking asked about Y (his name doesn’t matter), an active shooter, a heck of a rifle shot.

Only to be told Y is no longer coming to rifle matches, because “he’s gone into hiding”, and doesn’t want anyone to see him with a rifle/gun. He doesn’t associate with any of his friends. He’s gone hermit, for the duration.

Now, I know Y. He’s an ex-serviceman, a veteran of one of the Gulf Wars, as brave as anyone.

Yet he seems to believe things have already gone to H in a handbasket - or will soon - so hence the going underground, and pulling the welcome mat in behind him.

Bottom line: He’s already given up. He’s not willing to fight to protect his country, the Constitution, or, seemingly, anything else. Hiding is his answer.

It’s possible you know people like him - or at least people who talk about ‘retreating’ - maybe you are one of them.

But this man took an oath, long ago, to protect and defend the Constitution - and that oath had no expiration date.

(For an interesting new development about this on the ‘net, check out oath-keepers.blogspot.com)

Now, I can’t say for sure, but believe Y was in the Marines.

Yet now, when his country needs him, he’s off to hide.

Let’s see, AWOL in the face of danger?

It would clearly be cowardly to run in the face of the enemy - right?

Would it be cowardly to run - before the enemy even shows up? (Actually, I bet Y believes the enemy has shown up - or is about to - which is why he took the action he did - you don’t hide unless you think danger is imminent.)

Y is not stupid.

As I said before, he’s not a coward - he’s as brave as you or I - maybe braver. He’s proved it, on active service in a theater of war.

Yet his action is - let’s face it - cowardly. What other word would you choose for running and hiding?

Focusing on saving his own skin, and to devil with the rest. (Let’s be generous, and allow he has taken his family to what he thinks is shelter, by hiding.)

If we were all on the deck of the sinking Titanic, and he pushed his way into a lifeboat, women and children be d-mned, would that be a cowardly act?

If he pushed his way onto a life boat, while others are trying to save the ship, would that be a cowardly act?

I suspect a brave man would do something different. Would prob seize any opportunity to try and save the ship - since there are not enough lifeboats.

Maybe “brave” is the wrong word to use. Maybe “determined” would be a better word.

A determined man would ‘fight the good fight’, would buy time for the women and children to board the lifeboats, if nothing else.

But a determined man would give his utmost to save the ship - because he doesn’t give up in advance.

He may even give his life.

What is “manly” about giving up without a fight?

Where is it written that it’s the “cool” thing to do - to hide?

Where would we be today if people better than us had not refused to run and hide on April 19th, 1775?

A brave man, an intelligent man, but a cowardly act.

Were I to penetrate his retreat and say that to him, no doubt he’d be insulted - angry, even.

What do you think? Would he be right to be angry?

What would you feel if you turned out way back on Battle Day, April 19th, 1775 - and your neighbor refused to turn out - instead, went off and hid to save his hide? Or, gathered his family, and fled to the woods? Would you think more of him? Would your respect for him be increased, or decreased?

There’s lots of Americans willing to travel this same road - to not fight, but to hide. To run for the woods. To push their way onto a lifeboat, rather than fight to save the ship.

Enough of them do it, and the ship WILL sink.

It takes the efforts of a lot of people to save the ship. Every set of hands not bailing, every person who chooses to run for the lifeboats is one more lead weight making the ship sink faster.

What kind of craziness is going around?

What makes people who are normal, mostly, give up the essence of what it means to be an American, and choose to hide?

What’s happened to our fellow Americans?

Maybe 21st-century “me-ism”? The “arrogance of ignorance”? The “me-first” attitude?

Maybe no hope?

But ‘no hope’ is not an excuse to hide. “Hiding” is simply living your life in a self-made prison.

We have these words, from the American half of British-American Winston Churchill:

…if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not so costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival.

There may be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no chance of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

If you will not fight.

If you will not fight for the right.

If you will not fight, if you will not lend your efforts to those of your fellow Americans, you aid in bringing on the very future you fear. You increase the odds of defeat, of losing something won over 200 years ago on many battlefields by men and women who are clearly your betters.

And since you will not fight, you have made a decision that’s contrary to everything being American stands for: You are saying - with action, not with words - and action is far more emphatic than words, it is better to be a slave, than risk your life fighting for liberty.

John Paul Jones knew and understood what Americans were about. And what they stood for. So did George Washington - and so did Benedict Arnold.

But do you?

Clearly not.

After the Rev War, patriots, the ones who fought, ran the ‘traitors’ - the Tories - out of the country. You can hardly blame them. Why let the ones who were against you enjoy the benefits of all you fought for?

If there’s one iron rule on this planet, ever since this country was born, in all the generations since: If you’re born on this planet, and you want a happy, safe life, get to America.

But no longer.

The last ship of freedom is about to sink. And brave men are running and hiding, unwilling to save it.

T’is a shame…

If you care, if you don’t want that ship to sink, join with us in Project Appleseed (www.appleseedinfo.org) and help us save a sinking ship.

Brave men, cowardly acts? The Founders must be shaking their heads…