Corsicana —
ENTITLEMENT: “(1) the condition or state of being entitled (2) something to which a person is entitled; specif., any of various benefits provided to qualifying persons under certain government programs, as Medicare...”
Let me start this rant by saying I firmly believe that all living creatures on this earth are entitled to a dignified existence, the right to live, love, and worship as they please, and to be fruitful and multiply. Well...maybe on that last part, I might make exceptions for fire ants, bedbugs, roaches, mosquitoes, locusts, June bugs, and those nasty razor-edged zebra mussels that are fouling up our water supplies.
You may know, or may not know, that the United States Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments, and subsequent amendments, ensure the many entitlements we citizens often take for granted.
Due to the recent tragic shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo., debate of the Second Amendment has fired up again between the gun-control advocates and the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” folks. At this point, let me state that this awful atrocity occurred within a couple miles of the three residences we owned in Aurora for many years before the Texas move. The Little Woman (she still doesn’t like the name) did a lot of shopping at that very site and we have life-long friends who live all around that area so it really hit home to us.
Let’s get back to the Second Amendment which states, “...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It is very clear that this entitles me, as a citizen, to keep and bear arms which I do proudly. I have a 12-gauge shotgun and a .357 Magnum pistol. I no longer hunt so I keep the shotgun around to ward off varmints here on the banks of Golden Pond. I keep the .357 Magnum around in case some two-legged varmint might want to break into our humble abode in the dark of night.
Even back in the formative years, patriots like Madison, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams could not agree on how much control the federal government should have over state and individual rights. However, unlike the extreme left and the extreme right of our current political spectrum, they hammered out compromises when needed and produced as near perfect a document as the world has seen before or since.
Here’s the real kicker — when those good old boys in the powdered wigs allowed as how we had the right to “keep and bear arms,” they were talking about the musket or the blunderbuss over the fireplace. They were not talking about instruments of mass destruction like automatic assault rifles with banana clips with up to one hundred rounds of ammunition. The difference between an automatic assault weapon and those old colonial weapons is like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it.
If the Second Amendment makes it OK for ordinary citizens to obtain such weapons, then perhaps an amendment to that amendment is in order. The burning question of course is how else do we deter ordinary citizens from committing extraordinarily heinous acts once they are so well armed and then they snap? Did you read this week about the guy in Maryland who got fired from his job, threatened to shoot the place up, and he also called himself “The Joker?” The police checked his pad a found a closet full of automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. We need more assault weapons available to the public about like Custer needed more Indians.
I am well aware that any mention of the GC-words (as in gun control) is about as popular with the “right to bear” folks as spotted owl recipes are with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, maybe it’s time to talk about it civilly — at least that’s what some of my friends back in Aurora are saying.
Several years ago, I saw an ad in a gun magazine which showed a dude in camouflaged attire, standing in what appeared to be a hunting blind, looking skyward, and holding an AK-47 looking assault weapon with a banana clip. I could not help but think about how ludicrous a pose it was. Proposing an assault rifle is good for hunting is like saying a chain saw is good for cutting butter. What do you suppose would happen if some poor duck wandered into this guy’s air space? Ducky would be faced with more ack-ack than our B-24 Liberators faced while flying those bombing missions over the Ploiesti oil refineries back in WW II.
I will close this rant by stating I am in no way lobbying for more government control over our everyday lives. Too much authoritative bureaucracy is like a tree full of happy monkeys: if you are at the top, looking down, all you see is smiling faces; if you are at the bottom looking up, all you see are monkey-butts! (I cleaned that one up)
See ya...
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Dick Platt is a Daily Sun columnist. His column appears on Tuesdays. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? Email: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
Opinion
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Dick Platt is a Daily Sun columnist.
Discussion
Entitlements
- Opinion
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No ifs, ands, or butts
Having hindsight in the little New Jersey resort town of Wildwood will soon be a civic offense punishable by a $25 fine.
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Bits and pieces from all over
I’m all for taking the quickest route from “Point A” to “Point B” as much as the next guy.
I guess it’s just human nature to want to get to where you are going as quickly and efficiently as you can so you can get on with your life.
There have to be some limits to that, though. -
Father’s Day dilemma
What to get my father for Father’s Day is one of those no-win situations, like nuclear war or when you’re eating something someone worked really hard to cook but it’s awful. Lie and they poison their own family. Tell the truth and you’re an insensitive jerk. You’re toast, either way.
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My Daddy, My Hero
A dad is a little girl’s first hero. I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to have a father in the picture from birth, but for those who do, he can be a giant.
I write this on Flag Day, June 14, Friday, which marks four years since my Daddy departed his earthly body and went to reside with his Savior. I miss him. Strangely, his own father, Fred. E. “Bud” Brown also passed away on this date in 1985.
Those two men were my heroes. -
It makes no sense
There are a lot of things I see or hear of every day that make no sense to me. At the top of my list is our criminal justice system. At this point, I could go into a rant about lawyers but I won’t — I’ve got too much class to tell lawyer jokes. Well, maybe just one?
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Its a ‘baby thing’
I guess every birth is as unique as the child it produces.
After having inductions at 38 weeks (with NO epidural) myself, I was unprepared for the “going into labor on your own” avenue of childbearing. (For anyone not familiar, I’m discussing grandchildren here.) -
Real world issue
Our Janet Jacobs has a story in today’s paper about the early work on the City of Corsicana 2013-14 budget, and some of the challenges they are facing in the coming year.
I feel quite certain that we all can “relate” to that — it’s a battle the working folk in this city, and hundreds of other cities across the nation, have been fighting for some time now. -
Teachable moments
A few summers ago, my wife and I had the privilege of keeping our grandchildren for a few weeks in Montana. They were 8, 10 and 11. We normally saw them for a few days two or three times a year. I felt like Santa Claus, showering them with presents at Christmas, but not part of their daily lives.
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Storm warnings
This will be the first time The Little Woman (she dislikes that name) and I will have spent an entire hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast. Predictions range from “It’s just another year in paradise” to “you may not have to wait until Christmas to have a tree in your house!”
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Stupidity starts with breakfast
There’s all sorts of stupidity out there to make fun of, but I thought I’d pull just a few samples this week for ya.
It must start, of course, with the gold-plated chocolate bacon. - More Opinion Headlines
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