WARNING: LONG POST ALERT

Sorry I've been gone for a bit. I had a few days off, and needed to take care of some work around the house. And some time to practice my 2nd Amendment Rights, of course. Which brings me to this days post.

Living in Seattle as I do, I get questioned quite a bit as to why I shoot, and why I support gun ownership. It took me a while to figure it out, because I hadn't given it much thought until a few years ago. It was just something you did. But why? So I did a little soul searching. And I was able to name why I believe so heavily in gun ownership. I have several reasons, but one part is this: I believe in being self-sufficient. More to the point, I hate being forced to depend on someone else. And this is what I'm going to touch on today.

I change my own oil in my vehicles. It saves me about $15-$20 per vehicle, and it saves me more for my motorcycle (damn bike shops are expensive!). More to the point, it puts me in control of what happens to those vehicles. I re-surfaced my living room table. It's amazing how much you can do with a sander, file, and a can of oil-stain. Need a tool chest? Forget buying one, I built one. Camp kitchen? Built it. Tent? Built it. Food? I have a garden outside. $1.00 for a head of lettuce, or $1.50 for a packet of seeds that will give me 100 heads of lettuce? Or carrots, peas, onions, cucumbers, squash, tomatos, you get the idea already. The point is, given the choice between purchasing a service or product, and doing it myself, I will do it myself at least half of the time, more often if I have the time to do it myself. It saves me money, and I feel it gives me more control over my life. I don't have to worry about what chemicals are on my produce. I don't have to worry about where my wood came from, or what kind of oil was put in my truck. These are all simple examples but the point is that through these simple things, I control what happens in my life.

Every time you ask someone else to do something for you, you give up a bit of control. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. I can put out a small fire, but there's no way I could put out a house fire. So I depend on the fire department to do it for me. Even though I change my own oil, I have no way to change a clutch plate. More importantly, I do not have the ability to do it myself. Through my lack of knowledge (and the increasing compexity of modern cars) I have become dependant on someone else to fix my car, much like I am dependant on the fire department to put out a housefire. And deep down, it's that dependancy that bugs me the most.

Now then, if I get upset about having to depend on someone to fix my car, how do you think I feel about depending on someone to protect my life?

If a mechanic can't fix my truck right away, it's an inconvienence. If it's sunny, I can ride the motorcycle (and I prefer to do so), but I can't go to the Home Depot and pick up lumber. Not a big hassle. If it rains, I have to carpool or take the bus. That's a bigger hassle, but still not serious. However, if I'm forced to depend on someone to protect my life and property, my life could end. Period. During my Army training, we learned that a man with a knife can cross 20 feet in about half a second. How long does it take to dial 9-1-1? If someone broke into your home tonight, would you rather clutch a phone to your ear, or point a gun at the intruder? And if someone tried to hurt you, do you think the Police would get there in time? I've been trained on the 9-1-1 system, and I've sat through many a call where the caller would ask "Are they on the way? Why aren't they here yet?". Cars can only go so fast, and the police cannot be at your door in seconds. That is a fact that you must accept. And I haven't even touched on the parts of the country where there is no 9-1-1. There are no police to protect you, not for twenty miles. There might not even be a phone to call for help. If you are dependant on other people to protect you, you're done. Pack it up. Shuffle off this mortal coil.

By ensuring that I can protect myself, I am taking control over that part of my life. And more importantly, I can make sure that my life and the life of people closest to me are protected, no matter what happens, or where I am. My life is not dependant on a phone, or someone else's whim. I am in control of what happens to me.

If Tim doesn't kick me off the blog for the length of this post, I'll go into Gun Control at a later date.