A well armed gathering

The hubby and I helped found our local liberty group in the wake of the 2008 elections. In addition to organizing the occasional Tea Party, or canvasing neighborhoods to motivate voter turn out in the elections, most of our purpose is to educate the placid, apathetic general public who get their news from Yahoo or MSN, and believe their rights come from whichever party is in power at the time.

 Admittedly, over the past 3 years, the movement has seen some highs and lows. Early on, our meetings were standing room only, as people were stunned, horrified and angry at the direction the country seemed to be headed. Our group was the sounding board for that frustration. But as the months went on, in spite of many of our fears for the nation being realized, people started going back to their lives, jaded, resentful, but lacking the fire and motivation to do anything about it. There are some of us, however, who can never return to the way it was, in the same way that someone healed of blindness never again wants to be in the dark.

Those of us who remain are, as a whole, fiercely loyal, painfully independent, and frighteningly well-educated on founding principles of our nation. We continue to work tirelessly in one capacity or another to restore or preserve the rights that our corrupt, power hungry government has usurped.

But sometimes, you just have to party. So, this weekend, our liberty group held and event to which we invited everyone who ever joined us in standing for a conservative ideal, and guess who showed up? Yep, the usual suspects. The event was under-attended to be sure, but it was a great reminder to me, at least, of what this country used to be, and hopefully will be again.

As I sat down to eat my delicious potluck food, I scanned the others seated around picnic tables and grinned. Of the 30 adults present, perhaps 5 appeared to be unarmed. Twenty-five well-armed citizens at a cookout...and no shootings! The mainstream media would eat its hat!

This observation led me to reflect on past eras when everyday folks wouldn't think of leaving home without their sidearm or rifle, the same way we feel naked and vulnerable when we forget our cell phone today. No one in that time believed it was someone else's job to protect their family, their home or their resources.

It's amazing when I stop and truly consider how destructive the gun control movement has been to our society. We have become a nation of sissies, all lawyered up and impotent to defend ourselves from any attack. Like the final hours in the life of a wounded African lion, once majestic, powerful, lethal, but now alone, defenseless, pathetic. The vultures circle...government, opportunists, lunatics, corrupt and morally bankrupt alike all salivate at the thought of feeding from the carcass of what once was a well-armed society.

But those of us who remain will fight to the end. My children will be armed and my children's children will defend themselves as well. I refuse to allow the weak and impotent dictate how I live my life, which is why I will never relinquish my identity as the Well-Armed Housewife.