RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.
Countrymen,
First Story
In 1893 Swami Vivekananda traveled to Chicago, USA, to attend and participate in the World’s Parliament of Religions. He addressed the gathering.
Swami Vivekananda was the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great Saivite Saint of recent times.
During a lull in the proceedings at Chicago, Swami Vivekananda strolled on the bank of the Chicago River. He came upon some boys shooting tin cans floating in the river. They tee-hee-ed about his clothing and he struck up a conversation with them, evincing great interest in their occupation. He asked many questions about the art of shooting and complimented them on their skills.
He inquired finally whether he might give it a try. The boys readily agreed and handed him a rifle. The Swami took aim and fired several rounds, each striking a tin can in the river.
The boys were astonished and inquired whether he had shot before. He replied that he had not, whereupon they inquired how he could do that, hitting a can with each round shot.
Swami Vivekananda answered them, saying that he concentrated on the target and handled the rifle in such as way as to make the bullet go where he wanted it to land.
He thanked the boys for the fun they had afforded him and commended them to theirs with the same instrument. Then he continued his stroll along the bank of the river, returning finally to the hall where the Parliament met.
Second Story
Several retirees were lunching in a cafe in a small mountain town of the Pacific Northwest. They arrived here weekly for lunch after a morning at the range.
They spoke of guns, and how they did that day at their targets. Several were experts on vintage weapons and calibers and spoke easily of these matters, partly to impress one another and partly because weapons and their peripherals are both works of art and indicators of civilization’s progress.
The advance of civilization is measured by the development of weaponry and their artful use.
Into the cafe walk a man and woman of advanced but not aged years, affluent, urban-dwellers, probably visiting quaint mountain villages by way of their eateries.
They take a booth behind the retirees, who are seated at a free-standing table. They order beverages and lunch, which duly arrive.
One of the retirees senses behind his back hostility from the woman and the man but puts it from his mind. The conversation continues as before.
Suddenly the retirees hear the woman behind them say bitterly, “You people don’t deserve to be alive.” and walk out the door, the man following. Before descending into their classic 1950s Porsche, they throw murderous looks at the retirees through the cafe’s window. They leave no tip and stiff the restaurant for their bill.
Prognosis
Family-oriented shooting sports parks. That is the idea. Built all over the country in as large numbers as possible
The purpose? National and Personal Security:
build and maintain marksmanship proficiency
build and maintain situational awareness and teamwork
build and maintain social cohesion and respect for legitimate authority
build and maintain proficiency in development and history of weapons and projectiles
These parks should be owned and operated as private, for-profit businesses, or, second best option, as elements of publicly owned parks systems. They should not be owned or operated as private, non-profit gun clubs, which universally and consistently demonstrate their inability to satisfy the demand for sufficient, safe, non-politicized, legally operated shooting sports facilities. Long-term, these parks would operate most reliably as private, for-profit businesses.
The parks should be of size and construction sufficient to accommodate training and practice in every shooting sport indigenous to their locale. They should accommodate the training needs of law enforcement and private security personnel. These are parks for all law-abiding USA Citizens to shoot projectiles, train to proficiency and develop interest and skills for national and personal defense. NRA membership should be encouraged but not required.
Faith in Liberty
What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.
Judge Learned Hand, 21 May 1944
Central Park, New York City
“In 1947, [Judge Learned Hand] voiced his opposition to a proposed “group libel” statute that would have banned defamation of racial or minority groups. He argued that such a law would imply that intolerance could base itself upon evidence. The effect of the proposed prosecutions, he said, would be ‘rather to exacerbate than to assuage the feelings which lie behind the defamation of groups’.”
[M]y friends, will you not agree that any society which begins to be doubtful of itself; in which one man looks at another and says: “He may be a traitor,” in which that spirit has disappeared which says: “I will not accept that, I will not believe that—I will demand proof. I will not say of my brother that he may be a traitor,” but I will say, “Produce what you have. I will judge it fairly, and if he is, he shall pay the penalties; but I will not take it on rumor. I will not take it on hearsay. I will remember that what has brought us up from savagery is a loyalty to truth, and truth cannot emerge unless it is subjected to the utmost scrutiny”—will you not agree that a society which has lost sight of that, cannot survive? Judge Learned Hand
AMDG – VICTORY
