The Rifleman  

Let’s assume, just for the moment, that recent events in this country have left you with the feeling things are spinning rapidly out of control.

Let’s go a bit further, and assume - just for the moment - that you feel you are on the deck of a ship - and the ship is sinking.

Now, for the big question: What are you gonna do about it?

Oops, bad question, jumping the gun.

The first question is, “are you going to do anything about it?” Never mind the “what”, yet - just “what are your intentions?”

If you chose to do nothing, under the momentary assumption we asked you to make, you are on the deck of the sinking ship, and are planning to do nothing about it.

Nothing to stop the sinking. Nothing to save yourself, or any family that may be important to you.

After all, if the ship goes under, you’re in the water - not a positive prognosis for your future, to be sure.

So, let’s assume “doing nothing” is out as an option.

And let’s assume you know what to do - something like grabbing a bucket and starting to bail - and maybe yelling at the others standing around on the deck to grab a bucket and get to bailing!

Now that image is great - it’s even noble. Noble, to refuse to go under without a fight.

Heroic, even.

But that’s in your imagination.

In real life, you’re not on the deck of a sinking ship. No sir, you’re at home, or at work, or en route between the two.

In real life, you’re probably not lifting a finger to help save the sinking ship.

Mainly because, the water not being in front of your nose, and hypothetical to boot, it’s easy to ignore doing anything about it.

It’s also easy to ignore because, having lived over a decade (or nearly) in 21st-century America, you don’t really know how to ‘do anything’, any more (more correctly, you never knew - not you forgot ‘how to’, or that you are ‘rusty’ - simply that you never learned).

Plus, you simply don’t have time to do anything (and may not have the energy, either!).

Between work and family, there doesn’t seem to be much spare time to bail any hypothetical ship.

Man, life’s a beach, ain’t it?

Just when you want get concerned about the future - really concerned - everything conspires to keep you from doing anything.

No time. No clue as to ‘how to’. No energy.

Yet the ship is sinking, and you know it.

Maybe even feel bad about it - and even worse (is that possible?) you aren’t lifting a finger.

At Appleseeds (www.rwva.org), when I tell the story of April 19th, 1775, and mention the fact 14,000 armed Americans turned out on six-hours’ notice to defend their liberty - and question whether we could repeat that in today’s America, I raise another question: “How do you measure the value of liberty to a society? Would you measure it by the number of people willing to turn out to defend it?

“In that case, what does it tell us if 14,000 of our ancestors were willing to turn out on a few hours’ notice a couple of hundred years ago - without cell phones, internet, fax, etc - and most of us doubt that could ever be repeated today?”

If you look on liberty as being one of the things under attack in current affairs - in other words, as one aspect leading to the “sinking ship” conclusion - then you have to also (it seems to me) look at what you are doing - or not doing - to defend it.

Let’s suppose you can donate two hours a week to defending liberty - whether it’s writing your congress people, talking to people to try and wake them up to the threat, or something else (we at Appleseed can show you how a couple of hours on your computer a week can have a measurable impact on the battle to save this country - or the ship, if you prefer) - are you doing it?

Are you spending two hours a week to help save the ship?

I’m willing to bet the answer is “No” - and I’m willing to bet it’s for one of the reasons mentioned earlier - you don’t know what to do, you don’t have the time, etc.

The average American, we are told, spends 40 hours a week in front of his TV.

Ouch! That’s about all the time you have, when you’re not at work, or sleeping.

Some family life - huh?

Now, I’m willing to bet your grass (should you have a yard) is nicely mown.

And it prob takes a couple of hours a week to keep it that way.

If you don’t have time for saving the ship, and yet your yard is nicely mown, what does that say?

Does it say you value a fresh-mown yard - over liberty?

You have a choice of what to do with two hours of your time each week. The choice is 1) mow the grass, or 2) work to save the ship.

You don’t have to answer what your choice is - I can see the fresh-cut yard.

Now, how does the fact that, when given the choice between cutting your grass and saving the ship, you choose to cut the grass - what does that say about you?

That you’re short-sighted, putting a fresh-cut lawn as more important than liberty?

That you’re too stupid (remember, I’m simply asking this, hypothetically) to know what’s more important, and what’s not?

That you’re ignorant, not being aware of what’s happening to our liberty, while you mow your yard?

So we can change the old saying, “fiddling while Rome burns”, to “mowing, while liberty fades…”?

Maybe it’s possible you can do both - have a fresh-cut lawn AND donate a couple of hours a week for liberty? Maybe by cutting - gasp! - a couple of hours of TV-time?

If you truly understand and believe how close the ship is to sinking, and believe that us Americans should do something about it because 1) it’s the only ship we have - there are no others, and 2) it’s a fine ship, built with old-world craftsmanship, and t’would be a shame to let it sink, then you must realize most of your fellow Americans treasure laziness (if we can be so bold as to say laying on the couch in front of the tube consitutes same) over liberty, and ignorance over all.

If you understand that, you understand what we few who are concerned for the future face.

So maybe the choice in life comes down to this, if you are really pinched for time: a fresh-cut lawn, or some time devoted to keeping the ship from sinking?

Ask yourself: “How would the founders of this country answer that question?”

Which option would they want you to take?

If Project Applesseed is successful, is it possible uncut scraggly lawns could become a new status symbol?