Whether personal or political depression, Appleseed is about hope!
Mas Ayoob acknowledges some cheerless news and events for us gun owners. Then he shares some of his sad news and then finds hope in this statement:
"Personally, I'm gonna cheer myself up by joining the Duffy family and the Backwoods Home Magazine team for an Appleseed shoot."
Original article here:
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/
And btw, BWH is one of the best publications for free thinking, independent and freedom loving Americans anywhere!
The above linky will let those who still have not subscribed, to do so.
TG
Quote from: TaosGlock on August 03, 2012, 01:30:31 PM
Whether personal or political depression, Appleseed is about hope!
Very true. I always feel uplifted when I see the people that show up for an event. And my fellow instructors. Still plenty of fine Americans around.
I do have a subscription to Backwoods Home. I had met Mr. Duffy, the publisher/editor, back in February. He was going to give me a free subscription since he thought what I was doing was worthwhile, but luckily I did have an extra 20 bucks on me so I bought a years sub. Really nice guy. Good people. Just like our Instructor crew, the students, and many of the others in this country.
There is still hope. Anybody that doesn't believe that needs to come out to a shoot.
You may or may not know that a subscription to this very fine magazine is also available in a Kindle version.
Those of us who travel extensively will appreciate this convenient form of delivery. Of course there is also the hard copy if that is your preference.
The quality of this publication is first rate, and the content is not only 'on point' with the Appleseed Mission, but
they are huge supporters of Appleseed in their own right.
Let's support those who support us by subscribing!
Patriots, Americans, Riflemen, need inspiration and motivation to help see them through the struggles of our time and to enable the needed perseverance.
Imagine for a moment that you are on the firing line, getting excellent instruction from an RWVA instructor, being taught all the finer steps to firing an accurate shot, and told that if you persevere you will improve and reach Rifleman....but, after countless hours of applying what you are taught, you see no improvement, zero, zip, nada. What in the world would happen to your motivation to continue?
However, imagine for a moment that you compare your first Red Coat target of the weekend to your last Red Coat target of the weekend, and you can see a marked improvement? Now you are more motivated to put in the time at home, to persevere to improve and reach your goal of 210 and beyond.
Imagine for a moment you are a soldier in General George Washington's army, of 1776. After the success of running the British out of Boston in March, the rest of the year is marked by many defeats and huge losses. Loss of New York and surrounding areas, Fort Washington, Fort Lee, and loss of many men and supplies. Further, you see nearly zero support from your fellow countrymen, in the form of supplies and needed materials.
Come the end of 1776, your enlistment is up. Many of your fellow enlisted soldiers left in November, when their enlistment was up, reducing the army's numbers even more than the number of killed/captured in the months previous.
You have seen with your own eyes, the vast superiority of the British forces, have experienced the result of their command of the seas, and have heard of the many advances around the colonies of the British troops, to include tens of thousands hired Hessians.
The Tories you run into are very happy and their spirits are very high. The Patriots you run into are very gloomy, depressed and defeated in spirit.
Where is your motivation and inspiration to continue?
This is what General George Washington faced in the early Winter of 1776. He understood that the spirit and morale of his soldiers, of the American Patriots, and of the cause of Liberty were at their rock bottom. He understood that something had to be done to improve the spirit and to give some HOPE for success, or the cause would be squashed by the end of the year. This was one of the chief motivations for him to embark upon the "Crossing of the Delaware" and taking on the Hessians in Trenton.
He understood that without a success to present to his men and the country, there would be little to inspire them to persevere and endure the coming hard times.
Why should we think that the American Spirit of today is any different than that of 1776? The Rifleman Spirit is the same today, as it was back then. The American Patriot Spirit is the same today as it was back then. They needed successes to help them through the tough times and to help "spirit them up" to face the future struggles. They needed tangible results to enable them to see that the cause of Liberty was being advanced and their efforts and sacrifices were not in vain.
So look at those around us today, there are many who are realizing that the country is no longer on the course our Founders set her upon. They are seeking information about what is wrong, what can be done and how to go about fixing or preserving this country for the generations to come.
If one is to listen to the main stream media outlets, they are chock full of negative stories and how the cause is lost and the People of this country are powerless to change the course. In fact, many of the "patriot" information outlets spout the exact same message, all is lost, there is no hope, we have lost our country, there are not resolutions available to us. In fact, many of these "patriot" outlets do much harm to the efforts of the American People seeking to preserve our country, in that they further foster the notion that "We the People" are overwhelmed and surrounded, with no hope of success.
Massad Ayoob is spot on that going to an Appleseed refreshes one's spirit. How many times have you heard, at an Appleseed event, "I never knew there were others who thought like I do."?
The enemies of American Freedom and Liberty have as one of their most powerful tools, isolation and defeatism. If they can convince the People of this country that they are alone in their thoughts, are helpless to effect positive changes, and have already lost, then they "win", and We the People lose.
John Adams tells us that the Revolution was not on the battlefield, with muskets and cannon. And General George Washington understood this as well, in late 1776. The battle for Freedom and Liberty is in the "minds and hearts" of the American people. The battlefield we are engaged in is for the spirit of the American People. Are they defeated and demoralized, or can they see the successes of their fellow countrymen to preserve and pass on our Founder's gift to us?
There are many, many successes around us, just waiting for us to discover them and use them to spirit up our fellow Americans. Imagine for a moment, the folly of General Washington having such a successful operation at Trenton, in December of 1776, but the news not getting out to the rest of the country? There was a great success, but the effects upon the American's spirit are still lacking.
This is what we are seeing today. There are many successes happening around us today, but the news of these successes are not reaching the ears and hearts of our fellow countrymen. They don't know there are successes, they don't hear about others having success. Without this news, perseverance is more difficult and replication of these successful efforts are more difficult.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future course of our country. We need to seek out information about the many successes our fellow countrymen are having in the struggle to preserve and pass on our Founder's country to the next generations. These successes will inspire not only those within Appleseed, to help them overcome the struggles and sacrifices associated with being involved in this effort, but it will also inspire others to join in the effort. Because, as appealing as this sounds, "come, join us and you will suffer, sacrifice and see no improvements or benefits from your efforts.", many people will be more inspired to participate if they see there are successes and progress being made in the Cause.
..Backwoods Home Magazine is a fine publication. I am a subscriber and proud to be. Thank God for them....
..Funfaler, still looking for a few good apples, are you?? ;D Always glad to see you still around posting such nice reads. Been meaning to say so for a while but never found the time ;D.........Have a great Day............JW.....................
HUZZAHHHH Funfaler
thanks for lighting the beacon again
pb
Well said FF, couldn't have said it any better myself. O0
BUMP!
As true today as it was in 2012 .
Maybe even more so.
Example here - http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/10/19/many-people-quitting-arent-done-yet/
Sharing to FB
Steve out.
"...in the hearts and the minds of the people."
Loren