Stupid to die or go to prison over pieces of metal and plastic and wood

[Maddock]

Hal - Thanks for reviving this thread.
Oleg – Thanks for starting it.
Dennis – Thank you for putting into words what I feel, but could never express with anything near your eloquence.
As others have said - this deservers to be near the top when TFL becomes an archive.

[Miss Demeanors]

Dejavu! Who is that cornered rat? I will miss the good ole days.

[Dennis]

Thank you, folks. I appreciate your support more than I can express.

Now, let's carry the fight to the anti-freedom forces in America. Rather than waiting for their attacks, let's be proactive and put THEM on the defensive for a change.

We must use the soap box, the ballot box, and the jury box. Otherwise we are left with only two horrible choices (slavery or war) which we can still avoid if we become active.

Let's do it. "Let's roll!"

[butchb243]

Patrick Henery must be in your ancestery!
God that was great!

[Calamity Jane]

BTT

[seeker_two]

Well done, Dennis...

BTT

[psssniper]

And the next poster says:

Dennis,

Thats the best thing I've read in a while.

Paul

[Don Gwinn]

Dennis, I posted your wonderful essay at MichaelMoore.com just a few weeks ago, not long after I arrived. I thought you might like to see a bit of unconstructive criticism from the other side.
http://michaelmoore.com/phpbb/viewto...al+wood+dennis

Don Gwinn - that is the most parochial and lame sh** I have ever read in my life. [color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color] does Iwo Jima have to do with Columbine?

Can we try and go two minutes here without Old Glory being dragged out of your a***s for breadhead consumption - it impresses less and less people in your own country and nobody at all abroad.

Seriously, did the above bring a tear to your eye, or to old One Eye hibernating in your pants?

Lovely, isn't it? In his defense, Snake Jake appears to have severe, possibly crippling, emotional problems.

[Dennis]

Reading, or more accurately, TRYING to read that thread does terrible things to my blood pressure, pulse and respiration. It is nothing to me that such people scorn what others write. Their demeanor and mental blindness eliminate any concern I may otherwise have enjoyed for their opinions—should they actually devise some.

That people should be sufficiently educated to have some command of our language, yet be so ignorant of life in general and life situations other than the one or two they may have experienced (and perhaps even vaguely noticed and understood), is damning self-testimony to their miniscule comprehension that beyond their eyesight and vacuous “insight of the moment” there is life on our planet.

From a mere clinical standpoint, they fascinate me on the same level as watching a small mound of irritated (and irritating) fire ants. But to engage them in discourse, polite or impolite, on any subject of importance is beyond my level of interest in things pathological.

My time on earth to too limited for those people. They argue rather than discuss. Their goals, assuredly unachieved, are wit and domination rather than contemplation, thought, learning, or courtesy. That thread, if typical of that forum, is a great example of what mental decay there is in America and what TFL could have become without the leadership of Rich Lucibella.

Frankly, Don, you have the patience of a saint for trying to cope with their apparently boundless lack of thought and all things civil in nature. You’re a saint.

Either that, Don, or perhaps you should change your last name to Quixote!

PS. Remember to wash your hands each time you leave that forum.

(‘Twas respectfully signed, Your Sancho!)

[BigG]

Dennis, your marvelous Metal and Wood essay has been posted on my wall since I discovered it early in my browsing onTFL. Thanks, brother!

[Don Gwinn]

No man ever asked for a better squire, dear Sancho.

I'm just about tired of it myself. And yet. . . . a few have changed their tunes a bit. Who knows what the lurkers have thought?

The worst thing was that I promised to read Moore's book. That thing gave me a headache. I gave up halfway through and just posted a list of the outright lies he put in print. There are many.

[Dennis]

... read ... his ... book??

Don, someday your sense of fairness is gonna do ya in!!

<shiver>

[Powderman]

Dennis, I read the original post a few days ago. I had to wait today to write.

I served in the Army from 1977 to 1992. I had not found anyone yet who could quantify the way I felt--the real, true reason why I served. No, it wasn't for the college money or for the benefits.

My son is in the Marine Corps now. I had not found anyone who could understand--as he explained to me--the reason why HE is serving, when he could have stayed at home.

I could not find anyone who understood why I choke up when I hear the Star-Spangled Banner. I could not find anyone who understood (when I tried to explain to them) exactly what I felt while standing guard duty in places far removed from these shores.

It seemed like no one fully knew why I only was interested in one part of the Winter Olympics--the part when our Flag was brought out, carried by a guard of honor. The same Flag that flew above the World Trade Center. Some folks thought I was strange when I said that the proper ending of that ceremony have been to fold the Flag, and to have it carried--by a World Trade Center survivor-to a waiting formation of soldiers or Marines, in full battle dress--to carry on the fight.

And, I thought, that no one could fully grasp what a true love for this great Nation--and the principles for which it stands--actually means.

I can not express--with a thousand years and a million pages--what your words evoked in me.

Someone DOES understand. And, someone DOES care.

Dennis, thanks--from the bottom of my heart.

[BillCola]

Dennis,
Yours is truly one of the finest essays I have ever read on any subject, anywhere, ever. Thank you, sir, for your effort.
Bill

[blades67]

Dennis, that piece is as strong today as it was in 1998. Thank you sir. Well done.

[capnrik]

Five years later, this thread is alive and well to our great fortune. Mister Bateman, your piece will outlive all of us.

[Mal H]

You know, I never get tired of reading this entire thread. Dennis' work is for the ages. The responses to it are almost as inspiring as the work itself.

[Ironbarr]

can it be floated with a link to the thread? It is a truly great work and could be a TFL frontispiece.

Dennis, thank you. And capnrik, thank you for resurrecting it from the dim past.

-Andy

[Mal H]

"Metal and Wood" has a permanent place in the TFL Library.

[Any .45]

What can I say, that hasn't already been said, that was.........Damn.......The best piece of writing I've ever laid eyes on...my bodies frozen, and it's 90 degrees out side, goose bumps all over, my heart is pounding, and if I wasn't at work I would break down and cry. Dennis that was beautiful.

Sincerely,
Any .45

[45 Long Colt]

What they all said.

My ancestors have born arms since 1776 in this country. We will never surrender them without blood being spilled. Count on it.

Dennis has articulated why this must be so.

[OrangeSkies]

Dennis... That was beautiful. There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said by others.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[liliysdad]

Im gonna be the odd man out, and most likely, no surely, be scorned and flamed.

I will not give up my life with my daughter and wife over stell and wood. I have a gut feeling most would not either. A good game is often talked, and it is a righteous thing to do so. I do not, nor will I , condemn nor fault anyone for their beliefs. Period. Each man must choose the road they shall travel, and Godspeed those who choose this less traveled byway.

If you had asked me three years ago, I would have responded with the sabre ratlling intensity shown here, and I would have meant it. All that changed on September 1st, 2001 when my daughter was born. I cannot, in good faith, say I would lay down my life for these things thatI so love. I realise with every fiber in my being that it is not the weaponry itself that is worth fighting for, it is our very freedom. I will not argue that poitn. To be honest, it saddens me to know that I have changed this way, but I have, and I feel that I have matured enough to know this about myself.

This being said, I do partake in the battle to retain the rights we have. I am a police officer, and I realize that I will lose my rights after non government employess, yet I have not relinquished my memberships in organizations devoted to preservation of our rights, nor have i ceased my efforts in letter writing. I simply realize when push comes to shove, I will not give up what semblance of a life I have with my family...call me weak, call me what you will, but at least call me honest enough to admit it.

Rest assured, however, if the day does come I am told to come get your guns, It will not be I on your doorstep. I do draw the line somewhere.


But, in the end, what do I know? This diatribe comes from a 24 year old rookie. Let the flames begin.

[Mr. James]

lilysdad,

I don't think you will be flamed, at least I hope not. As you found, a man's perspectives change drastically with the birth of his child. I'd like to think I would stand and fight and, if necessary, die - precisely because of the people I love, not in spite of them. But, having never faced that choice in the real world, it's all just empty talk. Each man has to look hard at himself and make his choice and live with the results. You've made yours and have nothing to apologize for; may God bless you and your family.

But Dennis' essay left my eyes damp and a big lump in my throat. A stirring cri de coeur from a true patriot.

[Miss Demeanors]

Frankly, Don, you have the patience of a saint for trying to cope with their apparently boundless lack of thought and all things civil in nature. You’re a saint.

Ditto! Even I can't deal with those people. I've read some threads there and seriously contemplated what type of drugs they are on. They are a far way from reality. Don't let them get the best of you, Don.