07Dec05

Bearing Arms:

A friend who lives in the UK but, when he comes over once per year, shoots with us here in CO recently commented that he can always tell when he has arrived in the USA. He reports that Americans walk "with their head s held high, as if they owned the place!" "You'll see nothing li ke that in all of Europe, even Western Europe" he laments. "Europeans walk ar ound slumped over, like whipped dogs. They typically look dismayed, fearful, apprehensive =9D

He continues by observing that even he walks confidently and upright when h e is over here, carrying a pistol, and breathing American air!

Americans who bear arms, not just on shooting ranges, but throughout our day, look upon the practice not as just a banal habit, but as a way of life, a way that is uniquely American. Who bear arms exhibit a dash, which, to the

observant, is unmistakable!

America's creation was a bold experiment and one most gave scant cha nce of succeeding. We Americans are an historical aberration, and, when America i s gone, nothing like it will ever exist again. It is truly said, "Fre e men bear arms."

/John