The Rifleman  

Picasso had his “Blue period”.

Fred has had his “macho period” - that time when he was young, ignorant (uninformed) and foolish, and interpreted the 2nd Amendment to be about using your rifles and other firearms to defend your freedom.

He’s since learned, through reading the Founders, that a prerequisite to do it is an educated, informed, alert, liberty-loving, American people.

Not only a desirable “prerequisite”, but mandatory “requirement”.

In fact, if you have the hearts and minds of the American people with you, you’ll never need the guns.

Likewise, if you don’t have their “hearts and minds”, all the guns in the world won’t help.

Let’s brifly review progress we’ve made as a country in the last 50 years - the last three generations:

Every new babe born in this country has a number assigned - this is so “deductions for children on tax records can be checked.”

Every citizen in this country has a file on those big gov computers - this is to “perform background checks for gun purchases.”

Soon there will be a DNA database, so that “missing children can be more easily found/identified.”

Soon every vehicle will be tracked thru GPS, so that stolen vehicles can be located, and people who run their vehicle off into a ravine will be easily located.

“Appeasement” - which after Neville Chamberlain was thoroughly discredited - is now the policy of the land, both in high councils and low.

Any notion of the “sovereignty of the citizen” (that is what libery is about, folks - in fact, that IS liberty) and “limited government” has simply disappeared from American public life. No one seemingly cares, anymore.

Gee, that’s real progress in America, right?

And not a one of those steps in our progress has ANY implications for our liberty and freedom, right? (Actually, there were a lot of liberal sqwakers back in the 60’s fussing about alleged concerns over big gov computers having files on everyone, but as soon as they understood “it’s for gun control” they quickly shut up - no longer are gov files on every man woman and child an issue - “it’s for the guns…”)

Understand clearly. If you don’t have the heart and souls of Americans into valuing liberty, all the guns in the world won’t help you.

That’s what Project Appleseed is about.

Teaching Americans their history and heritage of April 19th, 1775, and letting that wake them up to the debt we owe the Founders, plus the realization that the Rev War was “a close-run thing” - and that liberty is always “close run” in the sense that it can disappear on you.

Wasn’t the reason the Founders divided up the government into branches to prevent the gov from taking those freedoms?

And wasn’t one of the functions of the first amendment to protect the vital function of the Fourth Estate - the press - to do its watchdog function?

Anyone believe the media is “watching the government” - any more?

Anyone believe the gov “checks and balances” are working - any more?

Anyone believe the American people cares about either possibility - any more?

So, what do we do?

There’s an answer: wake up your fellow Americans. If you can’t figure a way to do it, get them to come to an Appleseed, and we’ll do the waking up.

Because that “waking up” is real important.

For a very good reason, a secret even some of the Founders may not have been aware of (but some assuredly were): if you have the hearts and souls of Americans swelling with the joy of Liberty, you won’t have the kind of media we have today, or the kind of government. Most important, if you have the hearts and souls, you won’t need the guns to protect liberty - at least, you won’t need to use them against an over-bearing, tyrannical government - as such a government cannot exist in an American where the people really value and love liberty. Trust me.

So, Fred, years ago, relatively young and unsophisticated, did not understand that basic fact, because he had not read the founders:

But YOU can come to an Appleseed, and learn that basic fact - along with a traditional American skill, along with hearing the unvarnished Story of April 19th, 1775, the one you never heard in school - and never will - unless we save this country.

Because that Story needs to be in the hearts and minds of every American…

Armed with that spirit of Liberty, you never need to worry about being ‘macho’…