Rallies or Realities

I'm a big proponent of the Second Amendment.  I've never made a secret of it.  It is the most important Amendment in all of the Constitution.  Why?  It can be summed up in one simple, yet brilliant quote by Lt. Col. Allen West:

An armed man is a citizen.  An unarmed man is a subject.

Our rights are under a greater attack than ever before.  We must be ever vigilant.  We must be aware of what is going on, as much as we may want to hide our heads in the sand and pretend our beloved America isn't circling the drain. 

I follow a lot of pro 2nd Amendment pages on Facebook.  Recently, the owner of one of the pages went on a tirade because one particular weekend, more people attended a gun show than a nearby rally.  He spoke as if those attending the gun show instead of the rally weren't willing to stand up for their 2nd Amendment rights.  They weren't "putting their money where their mouths are", like those who attended the rally were.

I couldn't disagree more.  You see, while rallies may make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, they don't really accomplish anything--other than making us feel all warm and fuzzy, that is.

Legislation is not passed or defeated at rallies.

Laws are not upheld or struck down at rallies.

Change is not made at rallies.

Not that there's anything wrong with rallies.  Go ahead and attend them.  Hold your home-made signs.  Listen to the speaches.  Get those warm fuzzies if you like.  

But if you want to make a difference, if you want to accomplish something, if you want to make a real change, you won't be doing it at a rally.  Call your Congressman.  Write your Senators.  If you don't know who they are, find out.  Contact your State representatives -- hound them if you must.  Attend city council meetings.  Run for local office.

This is how real change is made.

As for those people attending the gun show, I see no better way of standing up for your rights than by exercising those rights.  The ones buying guns, they're the ones really putting their money where their mouths are.  Buying guns.  Arming themselves.

Preparing to defend liberty.

Because when it comes right down to it, the one who will truly be defending our rights won't be the guy holding the sign.

It'll be the guy holding the gun.