There has been much discussion this election season about voters "real" feelings concerning Barack Obama and whether or not these feelings are reflected in the polls. In the previous blog my son, as a guest contributor wrote about the "Bradley Effect".
I had an experience this morning that was interesting...
I swim at a club three days a week and like most people, am a creature of habit usually arriving for my workout at the same time. As a result I swim with many of the same people week after week. This morning I swam next to a young man that I have seen at the pool regularly during the past several years. He is a quiet guy and we usually exchange small talk like the weather, etc. After this morning's workout we were in the locker room discussing various subjects mainly concerning the election and economy. I recalled that he once told me he had a small construction company, so I asked if the construction business was as bad as we have read about. He said that the activity had dropped to almost zero and that he had to close down his company and lay off his three employees. He said that his wife was a nurse with a very good job and if it were not for her job they would be in serious trouble. He also mentioned that they were concerned that if socialized medicine were introduced, she might lose her good job or have her pay reduced significantly. As we talked about small business he wanted to know what I did. I described the business I started back in the 1970's and we laughed about how 10 hour/six day work weeks was one of the "benefits' of owning your own company. Then I said: "I would like to ask Obama if we spread the wealth around, who is going to pay us small business owners for all those long hours working for nothing, building the company."
That comment triggered some suppressed feelings because he got quiet and then said, "I know this is controversial, but if that son-of-a-bi*** gets elected, we are going to learn what the second amendment is all about. There will be a revolution, and I am locked and loaded baby". He then walked out of the locker room.
I did not say anything because I was somewhat stunned. In thinking about our conversation, he did not refer to Obama as that "black SOB", so I don't believe this is an example of the "Bradley Effect". But obviously he blames the loss of his business and his wife's concern about losing her well paying nurse's job on liberal policies. I would have reminded him that this is a democracy and we change things by voting, but to see such change in this quiet young man left me speechless - his feelings obviously ran deep.
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That young man is not alone. We have been "joking" about "the revolution" (in the future tense) for some time now. A man running for Congress spoke at our "candidates' night" at church last night, and, in passing, mentioned a coming "revolt". I'm sure he spoke in the ballot-sense, although I happen to know that this man could have also been hinting at another type. I told a lady the other day that I am beginning to figure it may be time for "revolution"
or "Revelation" (as this part of the world does not play a part in end times prophecy). People are preparing in a variety of ways to be able to provide sustenance and defense for their families. You in California and we in New York may be the first called to a decision!
Sigh. Glad that "this world is not my home! I'm just a passing through!!!" In the meantime, we are cocked, locked, and ready to rock. Linda G, NY
Maybe John McCain's new campaign slogan should be "Lock and Load Baby"
Is all this revolution talk for real? I mean, really... an Obama presidency may not be what a lot of people want, but that's hardly cause for revolution. A likely equal number of people have been likely equally unhappy with the president they've been forced to accept for the past eight years, but there hasn't been an armed insurrection yet. I'm all for a metaphorical revolution, but all this talk of "locked and loaded" has me a bit concerned. This isn't King George we're talking about, just another bottom-of-the-barrel pair of presidential candidates.
I suspect all the revolution talk is metaphorical. Maybe McCain should tone down his new campaign slogan to "Lock and Load my friends"
Here's an editorial on CNN.com that both you and your swim pal can get behind.
Actually, the talk of revolution that we hear a lot these days isn't metaphorical, and it isn't about a generic bad president. History has shown that our Constitution is strong enough to survive eras of wrong-headed leadership.
The murmurings are coming from serious observers who see a very real threat from a Big Brother which has gained ground subtly for years, and is possibly on the verge of a serious step over the line.
Gosh, I could go into such detail here, but.....
Gov't took private citizens' guns in New Orleans after Katrina....Obama wants to go that same route, look into it. The founders were clear on what the
2nd amendment was about.
The Supreme Court may very quickly change balance to one that believes the Constitution is an evolving, changing document ("progressive"), to say whatever the justices want it to. And they are in for life, unless we can pull off the impeachment power given us.
Free speech is promised to come under attack more and more (ironically, McCain hurt us all there). Easy to look into this subject also, see "Fairness Doctrine". See college campuses.
The slide into socialism should be obvious??! Government taking over financial institutions? Taking over healthcare? Taking over schools? Oh, right, done that. Taking over propaganda media? Oh, right, don't need to.
Anyway, I'll stop now. But this is serious talk, not in a redneck spouting kind of way, but in a thoughtful and serious look-at-history kind of way. Will we have to take a stand at some point? Hope not! We use humor to lighten the weight of this topic (cocked, locked and ready to rock), but we do not stop watching........
Linda G.
Linda G.....You go girl!
Follow-up to all the comments above, from today's news:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bernie Conatser has never seen business this good.
The owner of a gun shop in the Washington suburb of Manassas, Virginia, Conatser said sales have doubled or tripled the numbers he racked up in late October. Saturday, he said, he did as much business as he would normally do in a week.
"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11, Katrina," Conatser said, as a steady stream of customers browsed what remained of his stock. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."
Weapons dealers in much of the United States are reporting sharply higher sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago. Buyers and sellers attribute the surge to worries that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict firearm ownership, despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and considers the issue a low priority.
Obama better tread softly in this area. Rush Limbaugh make a good point today. If the Demos get close to 60 votes in the Senate, there will be no stopping them and they could stack the district, federal, and supreme courts to the point where it would take 25 years to reverse. So he said the best thing we can hope for is that the Democrats will "overreach" and their support will dissolve.
Obama's comment last summer about the country needing a domestic "security force" as strong and as well funded as the military, did not help. This is what Hitler put in place to keep Germany under control domestically while he went about his world conquest.
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