The Danger of Words (It's Not What You'd Think)

The outrage we feel at the gunman's cavalier decision to take someone's life and the strange compression of time and space we feel inside ourselves when we think of the act itself combine to create a state of shock, rudely interrupted by the occasional poking and prodding, somewhat like what my daughter does to our unfortunate cat, by outraged politicians who see this as their opportunity to say, "I told you so!"  The thought that conservatives in their anger about losing freedoms granted in our Constitution are somehow responsible for the decision by a deranged killer to put bullets into 6 or more of our citizens is ludicrous; you'd think that a simple prayer and calls for justice would be enough.  But not for those who feel they are somehow wronged by the pundits who speak out against tyranny, no, not good enough!  After all, there might be something to that phrase, "Don't retreat, re-load" that came from a strong leader, a woman no less, in the Republican party.  Of course, if that was a call to arms against the 2,000 plus page legislation that now threatens our country's economic future, I missed it.  I naively thought that my right to vote in the last election sent a crystal clear message.

Do our detractors wish that we would whisper sweet nothings in cool voices, or would they rather that we just shut up and agree with them?  What does it take, then, to get my Senator's attention?  Perhaps a bunch of crazy Montanans shooting their rifles into the air and whooping it up outside the offices of our fine representatives?  With my luck, we'd all be thrown in jail.  So, As I check to make sure my firearms are locked in tight for the night, my fellow citizens can be assured that my intent is simply to excercise my rights as a free American and to protect my home and family, nothing more.  You were scared, weren't you?  After all, I have written words that were hot and fiery in my short career as a blogger and longer one as a writer, but never once, not in all the time during which I have had to suppress deep-seated anger at this administration's lack of concern for our freedoms have I, even once, thought about taking the life of my congressman or a nearby 9-year old girl.  I certainly hope you are all relieved and that we can get back to it without losing, once again, the freedoms that are promised us in our founding documents.