Control Yourself: Part I | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This is the initial post of a multipart series expressing a long held belief on how to fix this nation before it is too late to do so. If you would like to read more, you can find other posts of similar intent by clicking here.

Incredulous politicians have the answer

    When I was a child "reared" by a domineering mother, I was often cajoled to "control yourself;" however, operating within the confines of this common precept is much easier said than done, especially when, in my day, children were also pushed to attain a purpose beyond the boundaries of their limiting world around them.

    And in the 1950s, 1960's, as many of us can well remember, there were some formidable boundaries placed before each of us that limited our reach, yet children, and adolescents, were still implored to reach higher, but stay in control.

    Today, there are fewer boundaries for children to hurdle, less resistance to a more purposeful existence, so I have to ask: Why can't most Americans conceive attainable purpose, within the controlling structure of common sense, and what has skewed our collective abilities to do so?

    Have we lost our ability for self-control here in America?

    Incredulous politicians, who propose the ever expanding concept of the "nanny state," believe they have the answer: Restrict freedoms, create walls of secular influence in this "brave new world" of diminishing, and flexible boundaries, while legislating greater control. And herein lies the "chicken or the egg" conundrum: Would this all be necessary if our government had not worked so diligently to wrest our ability for self-control away from our diminishing concept of a collective self?

    Take the horrific Sandy Hook massacre for example. As tragic as this heinous act of this one individual was, this tragedy could hypothetically never be corrected by more strenuous government control, especially since our secular society preaches a diminished self-control, a lessening of parental responsibility, and a greater "it takes a village" concept of what was once known as self-governance.

    In other words, a government more in control of us than we are of ourselves.

    Often, I hear strong, symbolic strains of this precept every time a Liberal, "nanny state" convert preaches greater gun control, by incredulously espousing: "Why does anyone need automatic weapons to hunt game?"

    The answer is simply they (the possessors of legal firearms) don't need automatic firearms to hunt game; however, that is not the issue with those of us who have taken the time to understand the United States Constitution. Owning guns is not about the sport of hunting, or the traditional need to provide essential protein for one's family table, but rather, the philosophy bent within the true Second Amendment advocate actually runs much deeper than that, and with a much stronger purpose to keep that freedom safe for perpetuity.

    Accordingly, those who strive to understand the precepts of the Second Amendment of our Constitution's accompanying Bill of Rights perceive its guarantee, and moreover, they will vehemently challenge the diminishment of that freedom to protect their families, and themselves, while maintaining their constitutional right to form a militia to defend themselves and their fellow countrymen against all enemies - foreign and domestic. With this awesome freedom comes the need for a commanding self-control, which is still practiced by real patriots.

    I firmly suggest that incredulous politicians practice that same measure of self-control, and look for some other tragedy to embrace if that is their calling to do so.

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