Nobles,
Begone
by Alan Lundy
http://www.safestcrime.com
My wife accuses me of creating an analogy or using a metaphor to describe most any situation. How do I plead? Usually GUILTY!
The current "sell out" debate of the NRA is no different. The first thing that needs to be established is an
individual's rights and where they come from. I, as an individual believe my rights are granted to me by God almighty and no man has the right to grant them or destroy them.
Then there are those who feel that times have changed and we should be grateful for whatever the government is willing to dole out, after all, they see the big picture and know best.
There are many others but this latter group scares the hell out of me, because they influence the sheeple with this satanic philosophy which allows the Socialists to rule us with a "brotherhood of man" greater good doctrine.
In the Mel Gibson film Braveheart, I recall a group of selects known as the "Nobles". These men have always been allowed to exist and their primary purpose has been to keep their flock in line. The English controlled the Nobles and expected the Nobles to control the peasants. Sound familiar?
When the peasants became disgruntled and talked of rebellion it was the Nobles who were the first to scream "we must strike a deal", or "let us go and compromise" at every impasse or hint of dissent. In other words they were and always are MEN WITHOUT HONOR!
I would not go so far as to say that the current NRA leadership is without total honor but it does seem they hold the position of modern day "Nobles". They ignore the individual pleas for "no compromise" and have actually taken compromising to a level of being an art form.
I know, I'm just not hip to modern politics and the art of bootlicking, deal striking, last minute back room negotiations, and such, but I do know a sell out when I see one. Since government has chosen to make itself a hierarchy of Nobility and less accessible to the "little" guy, we have been forced to create "Nobles" who can access government on our behalf then return to us with the verdict.
The Nobles in the film were motivated by land, gold and POSITION (security).
They were granted these tidbits by selling out the God-given rights of their fellow countrymen.
They involved themselves in token battles when the loyalty of their individual flocks were at risk (I believe they wanted to fight but were afraid).
They eventually betrayed the patriot and HANDED him over to the enemy.
All for what? Fear and the guarantee of their own security. What's different today? We will always have those who take the individualist route of William Wallace, and we will always have the Nobles willing to "strike a deal". The benefits are the differentiating factor. The Nobles are generally well fed, well clothed and well connected, thus guaranteeing their security. The individuals are usually on the lesser end of the stick, relying on themselves alone to guarantee their rights.
Remember at one point in the movie during the heat of the battle when Mel Gibson signaled for the Nobles and their flocks to attack? They didn't, because they once again had "struck a deal" behind closed doors and left the patriots on the field to sink or swim alone.
I think everyone who is truly interested in the current Second Amendment battle has the same questions and concerns about the NRA.
Have they become just another government arm in the IRS, ATF, FBI alphabet soup, a position held by the Nobles of old?
Are they waiting for the fickle judgment of our Supreme Court to tell us to turn in our weapons?
When that day comes will the NRA, as the Nobles of old, stand before us and say that compliance is in our best interest?
Does the NRA really want to win the Second Amendment war in Washington?
The worst thing that could have happened to the Nobles in Braveheart would have been for William Wallace to prevail (as he was doing). Then their power granted by the English would be threatened. The worst thing the NRA (or HCI for that matter) can envision is a final Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment. There is a lot of money being spent and a lot being made in the battle over whether the government will continue to abuse or recognize our rights. That means a lot of people will lose a lot of money when the war is finally over.
From the reports I have, Wayne LaPierre earns around $250,000.00 a year, plus perks. I'm sure the anti's have their high priced hacks as well and I'm not against anyone earning money, no matter how much it is but I still remember a quote from a economics professor years ago:
"If you paid me $50,000.00 a year to solve a problem, you can be darn sure that particular problem will never be solved".
Well, Doc, the price has gone up considerably and for my money I'll stick with the William Wallace's and say Nobles,
begone!
Alan L. Lundy is Co-founder, Owner and Webmaster for
Safestcrime.com and a regular contributing writer from the membership of
KeepAndBearArms.com. � Copyright 2000 http://www.safestcrime.com. All rights reserved. Visit our site to view our project showing states that are safe/unsafe to live in and why, at
http://www.safestcrime.com/Safe.htm. Our goal is to have all 50 states done, and we welcome assistance for the states that are not yet done.
Commentary to One Item Above
Great article, Alan. Braveheart is one of
my favorite movies. I lost count of how many times I've seen it, it's one
of only three movies I actually own, and your analogy is more than fair in its
foundation.
That said, I ask you to consider something.
Making $250,000 for a position overseeing such
a large organization is not really all that much money. Harping on LaPierre's
salary is a dead end. If you want to address your concerns over
NRA-related issues, you've got plenty to work with without using this particular
tactic.
A good place to start is in their supporting
"Gun Free" schools which are nothing more than criminal safety zones
where even the principal of the school could go to jail for having a gun in his
locked desk - and all the children at that school are easy targets for
criminals. I'd love to see an article devouring the easily-violated kids
in schools, signed off on by the NRA. Lots of good people have children in
these government indoctrination facilities, and the right approach would wake a
few NRA members up to the fact that "gun free" schools is insane -
detrimental to the life of the very younguns it is said to serve and
protect. That librarian at Columbine waited in fear, cowering in the
corner for 10 minutes before she was executed. Shoulda just headed over to
the library gunsafe, grabbed a buckshot-loaded tactical shotgun and blown those
punks' heads clean off their shoulders as soon as they opened the door. Woulda
saved 10 lives plus her own.
If that one doesn't float your boat, address
the fact that the NRA continues to call for the enforcement of over 20,000 gun
laws that directly infringe in one way or another of your right to keep and bear
arms. This "zero tolerance enforcement" bleating includes mandatory
imprisonment for a first time offender woman (in one backwards jurisdiction in
this broken nation where it is a felony) for simply carrying a self-defense
firearm, even after she has been threatened with murder. It shouldn't be
too terribly difficult to pound on that one and win over plenty of decent female
NRA members who just don't know any better.
But the salary issue is a losing proposition.
Even though LaPierre oversees an organization that has some problems, the amount
of work required for him to sell us out is worth that much to such a large,
softened-through-political-correctness organization - simply because directing a
monster that size takes real work, no matter how poorly constructed their dark
side may be.
The hardest part of the struggle to get the NRA
to stop compromising our rights away is that they do in fact do a lot of
good. Eddie Eagle, even with its one major flaw ("hands off"
mentality where there are no guns present) is a good program overall.
Those videos of Mr. Heston calling Clinton's bull are tremendously effective at
turning the tides in the minds of the people who see them, including the
fence-sitters who are neutral on the issue of firearms. (Of course the
viewers of these fine videos send money to support further sellout, but I won't
belabor the ugly point here.) NRA's firearms instructor training program
is reaching A LOT of people with gun safety and good, solid training. They
get timely information out to people about all kinds of things happening in
D.C. There is plenty more good stuff being done by the NRA, and we must
acknowledge that if we are to win influence with loyal NRA members and
especially with Directors and Management. And we need to be specific to avoid
simply attacking but not addressing issues, which I have been guilty of myself
on several occasions out of sheer frustration.
I'm penning my name to this one, not because
credit matters, but because I ain't hiding behind "anonymous" on this
important issue. The NRA has some obvious problems, plain to see for anyone who
cares more about the truth than political correctness, and we need to find a way
to reach them by reaching enough people who Just Say NO to gun control in any
form - even when it comes from the NRA. And by honoring what they do that
is in fact GOOD. And by appreciating the common ground we do hold - and
the common enemies of freedom we defy. Giving where they deserve to
receive will open the space for us to receive where it is damn well time for
them to give. I just re-learned that life lesson the hard way, in shades.
The funniest part of this whole NRA Compromise
fiasco is that the gunfear-afflicted sheeple in America actually think the NRA
is too radical. That makes me laugh every time I think about it. If
they weren't so concerned with being "politically correct", Heston
wouldn't have been holding up an antique flintlock; he'd have been holding up a
loaded militia rifle that is "banned" in California, the
"uglier" the better, and he'd have been calling for civil disobedience
by every owner of each militia rifle in the land who is being told to register
said militia rifles.
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. And join
KeepAndBearArms.com for a chance to win a .50 caliber rifle, and get some
extra tickets while there are some to be had. We're growing because the
need for more straight talk exists, and it's happening here. We appreciate all
the support we've received deeply, and we're headed for self-sufficiency outside
of member dues as soon as humanly possible. Members conference call again
on Sunday.
Angel Shamaya
Executive Director
KeepAndBearArms.com
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