"Every man in Air Force uniform ought to be armed with something--a
rifle, a tommy-gun, a pistol, a pike, or a mace;...Every airman should
have his place in the defense scheme.... It must be understood by all
ranks that they are expected to fight and die in the defense of their
airfields."
Winston Churchill, 1941
"I read this quote this morning and wondered if it applied to Americans.
If all Americans were truly patriotic wouldn't we all want this to be
true? We don't all qualify to serve in the military, but shouldn't
everyone aspire too? Furthermore, shouldn't everyone of us be proficient
in some way in defending our country? --A rifle, a tommy-gun, a pistol,
a pike, or a mace-- perhaps even as cyber warriors? Remember the Air
Force expanded its mission to Air, Space, and Cyber space."
My amazing wife sent this to me this morning via E-mail. She suggested that her thoughts would make an excellent blog topic, but I submit that what she pondered isn't a topic, but a blog unto itself. So the above Rant comes to you via my wonderful wife, Paula.
I will add my thoughts here instead of the comments section where they would normally go just because...well its my blog darn it!
A lot of people will read this and think that it is a rant on gun ownership and gun control, but it isn't. People love to quote the 2nd Amendment when it comes to gun ownership and gun rights, but more often than not they leave off the last part about a Militia and that is kind of sad.
It wasn't that long ago, that every man, woman and child in this amazing country would be willing to grab whatever weapon was handy and leap to the defense of themselves, their neighbors and their country. It was a matter of national pride that everyone stood ready to defend our lands from anyone who might do us harm.
IMNSHO we have lost that somewhere along the way. We are more than willing to let someone else fight for us and defend us. A huge majority of people look down on being able to use some sort of weapon to defend. It has somehow become Uncool to be able to defend not just yourselves, but your neighbors and friends.
I love to point out that Switzerland does not have a standing army, instead opting for a people's militia for its national defense. The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations;
Switzerland thus has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world.
To me, that is the way it should be here. Everyone of us should be ready willing and able to stand in defense if needed. It should be of pride and patriotism that we should stand ready to defend the Country that has given us so much. Whether that is with rifles, handguns or a shield wall with pikemen standing behind it, as Citizens we have that responsibility.
But like I said, this isn't my rant. Paula's wise words are the rant, I am just sticking in my two cents worth.
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