NRA comes calling

Earlier today the phone rang-- it was the NRA. They wanted to talk to my youngest daughter who is twenty years old. I almost hung up the phone but I decided to hear what "Brian" had to say, it was predictable....

"Did you know your Constitutional rights are being stolen away from you by Obama, along with Hillary and the rest of the liberal media!". I felt like a sleeping dog that had been poked. Really? I asked-- how is that? Brian sensed a fish on the line so he decided to "set the hook". Well, Mr. McCullers, I'm glad you asked. Let me play you a short message from Wayne LaPierre (the current CEO of the NRA), and then I'll get your response....  ok, I muttered with the hook half lodged in my cheek.

Mr. LaPierre was really animated and upset! It was a well-crafted recording that was designed to make me mad as Hell. But I wasn't mad.... I wanted to hear what he had to say. He told me that my way of life was being threatened and it was up to me to do something, NOW!  Mr. LaPierre went on to tell me the same facts that Brian had mentioned (only more emphatically), that "my 2nd amendment rights were slipping away from me and it was only going to get worse when Hillary takes over the White House". Was that really the best strategy to assume what the voters have yet to decide??

The recording ended and I was returned to Brian so he could finish me off with the gaff hook and haul me in the boat. "What do you think about that, Mr. McCullers! Is that really the future you want for Savannah (my daughter whom he referred to by name...). My inner-fish began to fight back-- how dare he present a veiled threat in such a vile manner! Well, Brian, I've heard the 2nd amendment referenced several times in the last few minutes- please tell me how do you interpret it? Silence.....

and more silence.... Brian, are you still there? 

Brian blustered, "The NRA is a national organization based in Washington D.C. that yields tremendous influence...." Brian.... I interrupted, I want to know how do you define the 2nd amendment!.  More silence and then a dial tone. He hung up on me. A glorified telemarketer hung up on me!  

I don't think I was being obtuse or confrontational,  I really wanted to know his view on this issue. It's a shame that he decided to cut the line assuming I was about to spit the hook. In retrospect, I think we are very similar (Brian and me), he wears a gun on his hip to dissuade an unwanted intruder and I arm myself with a desire to understand the right and the responsibility for that particular freedom. I don't dislike Brian or his right to bear arms,  I just wish we could have talked a little longer so I could have possibly understood his politics instead of simply being subjected to his posturing.

 I really would like to come to terms with the right to bear arms to defend myself against an oppositional militia and what that actually means. I hope Brian calls back tomorrow-- and I hope he brings better bait.