So I met up with my friends Mark and Paul at the Time Out in Federal Way after work Thursday evening to do what we do best - play bar games and drink. We each ordered food (me: gizzards, Paul: a Philly cheese-steak sandwich and mozz stix, and Mark: beef nachos) and washed it down with, as usual, their preferred yellow beer, Budweiser. Read: not my fave, as I've stated before. Yes, an old hick resides in my gut. I eat gizzards, grits, collard greens, cornbread, fried chicken......my maternal genes scream at me to do so, as do my father's culinary influences earlier on in life.
After eating, we gravitate towards the video-Texas Hold'em table and the newest incarnation of the Buck Hunter video game. I play a few rounds of hold'em, lose a few bucks on side bets, gain a few bucks on side bets, shoot some virtual endangered animals, and go outside to have a cigarette. While I'm out there, two guys that I've been listening to carry on about governmental blahblahblah also step outside to smoke, and hook me in to their conversation by asking me how many Constitutional amendments there are. "Well, more than 23," I respond. They run me through a sixth-grade gamut of governmental trivia questions, then, satisfied that I can play with the big boys, include me in their conversation.
I shall preface the next section with a disclaimer: I have not researched the factoid that I'm about to spit out, but have had it corroborated by more than three individuals after hearing it from these yahoos. The reason I'm not researching this before I make my statements is because I want some fucking feedback! Jeremy? Someone alert Matt Wood to this particular blog - I'd like to incite some political to-and-fro between these guys. One of the most intriguing bits of information that the short, scrawny member of this Sterno-huffing duo spat out:
"Did you know that recently, 20-25,000 troops have stationed themselves in cities around the U.S. to ensure lawful conduct?" "What, like martial law?" I question. "Yeah, exactly like that." The funny thing is that before this, their main topic of conversation was concerning the 2nd Amendment. Our argument ended (somewhat) with them stating that, taking the 2nd as it is read, our government is not allowed to tell us that we can't own fully automatic handguns, nor can they deny us the right to own a nuclear warhead, or any other weapon obviously intended singly for the cessation of human life.
My interest does not lie in whether or not I will be shot by these troops simply for carrying a gun in plain sight (which I dare not do, I don't have my pistol permit). My interest lies in the fact that (I'm paraphrasing heavily) we are constitutionally bound to form militias and rise up against an oppressive government, much as our forefathers did against the British. If I'm right, how the fuck are we supposed to compete against these troops if we're at an obvious armament disadvantage? M-16's against semi-auto AR-15's shooting .223 rounds? Right. The guy I talked to at the Chevron on my way home also stated the whole "troops occupying U.S. cities" situation, but mentioned that it was because of the government's fear of people taking matters into their own hands should the economy collapse. I, for one, believe that there's been a slight yet noticeable uptick in our economy - the government themselves has removed the hiring freeze. This may not coincide with the enormous budget deficits that we're seeing, but dammit, I tell you this: were I a 'civilian' business owner, to see the government start filling positions would bolster me to do the same. Am I wrong? I see this hiring thaw as a semi-irresponsible financial move, but a wise logistical move in that I honestly believe that it will encourage other businesses to do the same. That isn't the only economical improvement I've seen. Regarding my previous "automaker" blog: concessions aren't such a bad thing. Hear me out. What's a pay rate freeze or a 15% an hour less concession when it is mirroring the drop in the cost of our staples of life? Milk, bread, eggs, dairy products are cheaper than they were six months ago, unless you're a Seattleite snob and refuse to buy anything other than organic - fine, dig your own grave. The rest of us will be content with surviving, and for fuck's sake, you probably grew up on the same shit you're now dismissing as unsuitable. And let's not forget the most important part - as much as some of you absolutely abhor the fact, we're still dependent on fossil fuels and will be for the foreseeable future. You'd have to be Helen Keller to not notice the fact that gas is +/- $3 a gallon less than it was about six months ago. I don't give a fuck who you are - that's freed up a significant amount of fundage in 99.9% of Americans' budgets. If you're part of a union and they are suggesting concessions/pay decreases, fucking take it. It's not going to hurt you in the short term, and I guarantee that if they're enacted, there will be a clause stating that when the economy reaches a certain point, your original pay will be reinstated. Let's not be foolish here - we can't take the money back from the people who have already been given those 'golden parachutes,' even those who got them after the bailout package. The economy is fucked, and we as United States citizens are each going to have to bear a financial burden in order to get back where we all want to be. With sacrifice comes reward, people. Suffer now to prosper later. All of us, from the billionaires to the minimum-wage workers. Don't be prideful, don't be foolish. Let's work together to reverse this shithole in the quickest way possible. Even though I am an ardent Obama supporter, even I am not naive enough to think that we'll regain all that we've lost within his first term, but I am absolutely positive that we will see enough of an improvement to elect him for a second term, and I will eat my words here should I be wrong: under eight years of an Obama presidency, we will emerge financially stronger than I have ever seen in my 26 years on this planet. I promise you all that. It will be painful at first - fuck, it already is. It will be a struggle. More jobs will be lost. Unemployment rates are going to continue to rise - for a short time. I have faith. Please, be open-minded to the changes that will come. I am also not so naive to think that all of president-elect Obama's ideas will be successful, but I do believe that he's got the right idea.
The rest of the conspiracy theorist conversation really holds no meaning any more. Suffice it to say that they were kinda nutty and that I saw through their ruse before I left.
Yes, motherfuckers, we can. It's gonna hurt for a while, but we can.
Thank you.
1 comments:
"Did you know that recently, 20-25,000 troops have stationed themselves in cities around the U.S. to ensure lawful conduct?" "What, like martial law?" I question. "Yeah, exactly like that."
I think they were probably referring to the Pentagon plan to deploy about 20,000 troops total, around the country to help local law enforcement deal with a possible nuclear attack, or other catastrophe. Personally I'm not sure it would even be legal for the military to help in domestic law enforcement duties, but little things like the law never stopped the Bush administration before. I guess it depends on what the troops are for.
"The funny thing is that before this, their main topic of conversation was concerning the 2nd Amendment. Our argument ended (somewhat) with them stating that, taking the 2nd as it is read, our government is not allowed to tell us that we can't own fully automatic handguns, nor can they deny us the right to own a nuclear warhead, or any other weapon obviously intended singly for the cessation of human life."
This whole angle rests on a misinterpretation of the meaning of the second amendment. When the constitution was being drafted, Thomas Jefferson wrote a series of letters to James Madison and others strongly urging that a ban on a standing army during peace time be written into the constitution. Jefferson believed that a standing army was too risky. That it would be too easy for them to stage a coup, or create other mischief.
Jefferson instead wanted each able bodies man to make up a giant national militia. Each man would recieve military training, and the Gov't would ensure that each man was armed. The army would only be active during times of armed conflict, and would not be active during peacetime.
When Jefferson recieved the first draft of the constitution in 1787 he wrote that unless a ban on a standing army was written into the bill of rights he would recomend that Virginia oppose ratification.
But not everyone agreed with Jefferson. Many believed that the existential threats posed to the new nation made it far to risky to not maintain a standing army at all times. Eventually both sides reached a compromise. The provision banning a standing army would be cut from the amendment, and be revisited at a later time. In return Jefferson would agree to recomend ratifying the constitution.
And the result was the 2nd amendment. The idea behind it had nothing to do with protecting the people from the Government. The idea was to protect the people from an out of control military.
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