The level of respect you have for yourself directly affects the decisions you make. And frankly, I don’t think that people respect themselves enough. They’d rather ignore our nation’s problems, or consume them like entertainment through cable news, than actually get off their ass and make a difference. They think they’re so small and meaningless compared to some politician or talk show host that they stop taking pride in their own lives.
They’re so fast to transfer their personal responsibility to the government, or to a party they think is bigger or more powerful than they are individually. Every time something bad happens, they want solutions – so they cry to Washington to come save the day. Then these same people act surprised when the government’s solution is taking away their freedom.
Take ownership of your life. It’s all you’ve got. It should be socially unacceptable to sit around and bitch that you don’t have a great job, or a fancy car, or personal safety or anything else you think you’re entitled to. Because the only thing the government owes you is the chance to exercise your freedom in pursuit of what you want.
Imagine our country was invaded. Do you think I’m going to sit on my couch and say “Oh! Hey government – what are you going to do about this?” Hell no. If you come to my country, I’m going to come out of my house and join the fight with everything I have – every last piece of my soul.
Because I’m free. And I’m proud of my country and proud of my freedom. Listen, I don’t like the president any more than the next person, but I can’t blame him for every little thing that goes wrong in my life. And I can’t expect him or any other politician to make me safe or happy.
We have such a government-first mindset. I hear it all the time: the Second Amendment “allows” me to do this, “allows” me to do that. Nothing in the Bill of Rights “allows” us to do anything. Those rights were ours to begin with.
God gave us the right to protect ourselves and our families with whatever tools we have available. The Second Amendment simply puts that idea on paper so that all people can understand it.
The idea that a piece of paper written by a man could confer rights upon another man means those rights can also be taken away. My right to life, my right to freedom, and my right to pursue my happiness were conferred to me by my Creator. Not by another man, or by a piece of paper.
Being an American means respecting yourself enough to believe that you can do more for yourself and for others with freedom than you can with government entitlements and empty promises.
