Patriotism and the Limits of Tolerance

The Way We Were: Ellis Island

If anyone ever tells you that America has been an intolerant nation, tell them to go back and rethink their position. (Feel free to rephrase the admonishment in a more suitable fashion for the particular circumstance).

America, while having some obvious growing pains over the years, has been a beacon for souls all over the globe seeking a better life, and while those souls have been subjected to a sort of hazing early on, they have been accepted and embraced in the long term. Part of the reason for the ultimate acceptance of these people has been their willingness to assimilate into our society and become what they came here to be; Americans.

It used to be that new arrivals to America landed in New York Harbor and stood in line -- often long lines -- to swear their allegiance to their new country, and they meant the words they used. So grateful were they to be in a new home that offered the freedom and opportunity denied in their homelands, that they spoke the oaths of allegiance with reverence.  That is no longer true.

No Reverence for America Today

Today, there are an estimated 11 million people living in the Land of the Free that do not belong here legally. They have sneaked into the country and -- contrary to their predecessors -- not only have refused to accept the glory of their new home, but work tirelessly to change it into a mirror image of the country from which they fled, to be kind. Others expend a similar energy in the pursuit of destroying America completely. And we "tolerate" them for fear of being labelled intolerant.

Such is the disease we suffer today that resulted in the attacks of 9/11 and, more recently, the Boston bombing. There are people living all over this country who have no love of this great nation, and some who actively plot her demise, and every attempt at increased scrutiny is treated as hateful and wrong by the Liberals, the very group that would feed the lion in hopes of being eaten last. We invite our own end by this insanity, and it has to stop.

America is a great country which should be a safe place for all her citizens to enjoy, and I believe it will be again. To get to that place, though, will require some serious soul searching by not only our inept politicians, but by our incredibly gullible populace, as well. I feel that whatever the outcome, however, will have no bearing on the minds of true patriots who live in what our beloved media refer to as "flyover country".

I live in a Liberal stronghold, but my heart is in the patriots' section, and I know that eventually, the forced level of what passes for tolerance will disappear if terrorist attacks continue. Just as the Japanese discovered after Pearl Harbor, America -- or more precisely, Americans -- can be the best friend the world has ever seen while potentially the worst enemy ever known. And for all the jihadists who plan future attacks, our tolerance has limits.

The perception of many in the Middle East of American "weakness" is a dangerous misconception, one that I almost hope our enemies continue. On the other hand, I do not want to see more Americans die, even if they are somewhat complicit in their own tragic end. But I would be remiss if I didn't at least attempt to warn our enemies of the potential peril of an all out assault on this great nation. Despite our differences, Americans will fight together as brothers no matter what.

What you may fail to recognize is that no matter how much you may hate us, this is a country we all know is worth fighting for, and we will do so in a manner in which you may not comprehend.

We will fight for love.

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To the President and Congress: It's Pretty Simple, Folks

This is not debatable.

The terrible tragedy that was the Newtown Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut late last year seems to have been the final catalyst in a series of mass murders to push our elected officials to attempt to do something about the problem, even if doing something awful is their only recourse. What Newtown really was, however, was an excuse to ultimately achieve the previously unachievable, which has been a dream of Liberals in America since the country was founded; the disarming of our citizens.

Virtually every attempt by the elected few in this nation to take away our guns -- ostensibly for the alleged "safety" of us all -- has failed to produce the results promised by those officials. In fact, all one has to do is compare the level of violence and murder in a gun-free zone like Chicago to the serenity of a gun-laden haven such as Kennesaw, Georgia to see the folly of gun control advocates' ideology. And yet, our politicians are undeterred in their endeavors, lying to advance their agenda.

Parading around the country with a group of grieving Newtown parents, Barack Hussein Obama said on April 9 that some Republican senators were preparing to "use political stunts" to stop gun control, and that, "They're not just saying that they'll vote no on ideas that almost all Americans support." With all due respect, Mr. President, the people within arms reach of you do not constitute "almost all Americans". Harry Reid also says that 90% of Americans want gun control. The same message applies to the Senate Majority Leader.

Read the polls, boys, most people oppose Obama on guns except for background checks.
The whole point in this debacle is being lost on semantics and demagoguery, though, with reason being replaced by lofty platitudes.

Our Constitution would never have been ratified if not for the first ten amendments, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights. It was what our Founders demanded to secure ratification, and what they demanded for themselves and future generations. These rights are not up for debate, nor are they subject to the whims of 100 senators who are here but temporarily anyway.

These are our rights as American citizens, and we will never allow them to be infringed, and the handful of Republicans who threaten to filibuster the vote are not "pulling stunts", as the president says. They are protecting the rights of their constituents at large, and we appreciate it. You, Mr. President, as well as the rest of you in Congress, do not get to strip us of our rights because you believe yourselves to be above us.

So, Mr. President and Congress, pay attention, because this is really simple; your precious floor vote on gun laws is moot, and stopping it by whatever means necessary is a noble cause, not a stunt. Go Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, et al. God bless all who stand with these men and others like them. And God Bless America.

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