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Civilization is at risk.
Civilization is a convention. An agreement by similar parties to exist in a peaceful manner, following rules agreed upon by most. Honorable people follow even rules they disagree with, at least until/unless they are personally morally or ethically unjust. Everything we do is a by convention, mostly on an honor system to follow laws and to get along. The reality is, the authorities are neither required, nor able, to make sure that every law or agreement in our societal convention is followed. This leads to an inherently dangerous condition called freedom.
I am not going to extrapolate further except to give you some very real truths.
Every rule is followed only by those who believe it is morally ethically right and just.
Your morals and ethical code are personal. Someone else sees them as a weakness and a way to exploit you. “Never ascribe your morals to someone else, at best, you’ll be disappointed, at worst, it will get you killed.” – My Dad
There are people, many of them, who find great joy in disrupting societal conventions, some for profit, most for the feeling of power it gives them.
When the convention breaks down, no one is coming to save you. You will have to save yourself, or you will die. Act accordingly.
Postcards Of My Life #14 #pcoml
I have not written much in the past year but found that I hit a trigger of old memories at Marc’s in Kent, OH yesterday.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house that I posted about which is near Toronto, OH. My grandparents next door neighbor on the right were the Linderman’s. Mr. Linderman was disabled and I actually never met him. Mrs. Lindeman was a retired school teacher and my grandmother’s friend. We would occasionally walk over to see “Mrs. L” and she would always give me a little quiz, age appropriate, for which I was rewarded with spice drops from a bale jar of them she kept on her table.
I picked up a tub of them and was immediately reminded of those summer visits. When Mrs. L, went to the nursing home in Wintersville, OH, not much from a 3 bedroom home would fit in her new room. The jar of spice drops was there, though, and served from over many visits to her there. She is long dead, and the house has been through many owners since, but the memory of those simple spice drops will stay with me for life. She always saw the best in children.
Mother’s Day Post
So I screwed up. I didn’t consider that pretty much everyone with a loved one in assisted living or a nursing home wouldn’t be able to see their mother this year and that this would result in an early overload of the floral and other delivery industries.
My mother and I have often not seen eye to eye. We have went head to head as much as we have went heart to heart. We have have different paths we have taken in life… But mine was paved by her. So today the only gift I can deliver is from my heart. My entire life was possible due to the sacrifices my mother made. I didn’t always appreciate that. As a grown man, I had to make some of those same sacrifices myself to understand just how hard they were for her. And I learned to appreciate them, and her.
So, Linda Husvar, thank you for everything you did for me, for everything you endured to provide our family with a home and a life that was built with examples of dedication, sacrifice, endurance and love.
With love,
Your son.
PS: I owe you a tacky cactus or something.
Baby Yoda knows…
Judo on a world stage.
I have been thinking about Judo lately, played between nations… Or it is actually something more akin to a combination of Judo and Chess. Judo, for those who are unaware, is a Japanese martial art whose primary focus is defense by using your opponent’s own strength and/or inertia against them. The simplest possible example would be someone running up to attack you, you step to one side and trip them. That’s the judo. The act of planning to do so, the strategy, is the chess.
So how does this play into the world stage, as well as our country? We’re having this very redirection of action used against us by players who have been at the game far longer than we have even existed. The recent uproar over the rise in childhood obesity comes to mind… Much of which started with kids in my generation, maybe one generation before, playing Atari, Colecovision, and Packkuman (PacMan,) while exercising nothing more than a few fingers, eye muscles and, sometimes, facial muscles. This was later followed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony Playstation, and more recently the Wii, and PS3 and Microsoft’s XBOX. Yes, you can exercise with a Wii, let’s not go there. Most people buy it to play, not to get fit.
To take down a larger, stronger opponent, you must either redirect his energy, or make him weak. Or both. Notice that all of the video gaming systems, with the exception of the XBOX line, are Japanese… And kids are, as they have for 30 years now, sitting around getting fat playing video games. And not in shape to fight, should they be called to as adults, or even walk more than 50 feet in some cases. Diabetes is on the rise, health care costs will continue to sore… And remember, all of this is mostly coming from an “ally” we shamed and defeated in World War II… The Japanese create business plans that span CENTURIES. Do you think, honestly, that this action isn’t planned? You don’t have to fly a jetliner or two into office buildings to kill thousands of Americans (and others,) you just have to get them sitting around on their asses, playing games, and becoming bigger, fatter, shorter lived burdens on our country. Who is the bigger, more successful terrorist… Osama Bin Laden or Namco, Atari and Sony?
It happens on another front, as well… In Sweden and Norway, Volvo is Chevrolet. In Germany, Mercedes Benz is Ford. Nearly everyone owns one, they are very common, and not expensive. Here in the United States, a Benz is a “Luxury Performance Sedan” and the Volvo is “The World’s Safest Car.” And a model that costs 50% less in its homeland is sold as a luxury premium item here. Do you think any German citizen would pay $60k for a Chevrolet Malibu if we stuck some wood, leather and fancy audio equipment, all totaling about $1000 into it? If so, GM needs to get on it, because we’re missing something. The reality is, we’re missing something, all right… We allow marketing and celebrity endorsement to have more weight on our lives than plain common sense. We’re taking an economic ass-kicking for it, too. It weakens us.
Germany and Japan are just two quick and easy examples. The fact is, we, as a country are allowing ourselves to be weakened, torn down slowly, poisoned by complacency, luxury and convenience. 100 years ago the idea of having a gym to work out in would have gotten you laughed at. So would buying something that is not worth what you’ve paid for it.
You don’t need to uses guns, bombs or bioagents to take down our great nation… It’s more effective, it seems, to do it with Twinkies, video games and shiny objects. I believe the Romans called it Bread and Circuses. They were the greatest civilization of their time.
Until some very skilled enemies learned how to tear them apart by having too much fun and becoming complacent, fat and lazy.
Think about it. It’s judo and chess, and we’re the ones who don’t understand how to play the game or use the art. And we’re playing against nations that have been doing it for 5000 years. I think we’re gonna get schooled if we don’t get smart. And maybe, just maybe, the Japanese are still a little pissed about having been the only nation to ever have a nuclear weapon dropped on them.
Originally posted on my FB October 10, 2015.
Judo On a World Stage by Jerod J. Husvar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Membership is great, your CHL or CCW is better.
There are many great organizations promoting and protecting our Second Amendment rights. From nation-wide groups such as the National Rifle Association, to state groups such as Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association, Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohio Carry for us in Ohio, to your local rod and gun club. They all do important work and being a member of any or all is a good idea. They all also show a collective support of firearms and our rights. The strength in numbers they offer is solid. The problem is, not everyone can afford, or has a desire to financially support so many organizations. Their having good solid numbers is important, but at the end of the day, well, you’ve joined a club.
I have the opinion that there is something that each of us can do that shows a more sincere and dedicated commitment to protecting and supporting our rights. Get your concealed carry permit. I understand every argument people have against this. No, we shouldn’t have to pay for permission to exercise our rights. No, you may not have any desire to carry a gun, or even own a handgun. I understand that some are concerned that it gives a solid link to you owning guns. What is often overlooked is the direct benefit it does to the cause of protecting your and my right to own firearms.
In most cases, getting your CCW/CHL involves taking some training and submitting to background checks voluntarily. You also pay for the fee of the license and, eventually, its renewal. Many benefits are gained from this. Individually you have become a certified “good guy.” In many states, having your chl replaces the need for your NICS instant check at the time of purchase of a firearm because your valid CHL shows you’ve already done this and it’s on good standing. The collective benefits are even more substantial. Every license is recorded, counted, and reported, not by a club or lobby organization, but by the issuing government. There exists, at all times, a finite and exact count of the number of permits and the percentage of the population that has them. It’s not arbitrary, estimated, or arguable. X number of people have a valid permit. You or I can look up that number, as can the media, as can your elected officials. The higher that number, the more attention to it that has to be paid.
The gist of it is this. Having your CCW/CHL shows a level of commitment to firearms ownership that is stronger than being a member of EVERY 2A supporting organization in the country. We gain the advantage of the very people who may consider firearms ownership a fringe or odd thing having their own data tell them that we are here, we are willing to commit the resources to get a permit, and the likelihood is that we also vote. Sometimes the best way to beat a system is to use the system to beat itself.
Please consider getting your CCW/CHL, even if you never plan to carry a firearm a day of your life. You bolster the numbers of people who are pro 2A in a way that cannot be matched by any club or lobby. And that benefit is priceless.
Another article written for a defunct FB page, originally published September 11, 2015.
Membership is great, your CHL or CCW is better. by Jerod J. Husvar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Gun owners, it’s time to “come out.”
You know them, I know them, we all know them. The person who likes to shoot but doesn’t talk about it for fear of repercussions from friends, family, the kids’ school, or the media. They act like they are doing something dirty and should hide it when, in fact, it’s perfectly normal, common and acceptable. They’re in fear of discovery because they feel they will be ostracized or shunned. Sounds pretty horrible, doesn’t it?
It’s more common than you think. With the demonization of weapons by those who fear them, and publications such as The NY Times calling gun owners, essentially, barbarians, not to mention well funded political groups blaming tools for human acts, some people feel like hiding the fact that they own guns and shoot.
Firearms ownership is not uncommon. There are, by conservative estimate, 420 MILLION guns in the United States. Essentially, one per person. Likely two because records before 1968 were less exact. There’s also, by actual count, 8% of the United States population with concealed weapons permits, as well as a significant number of law enforcement officers and retired Leo’s who carry all the time. Let’s call it 6% of the population, and it is steadily increasing.
You’re not alone. Not only is firearms ownership common, it is acceptable, legal and enjoyable. What needs to happen is to reduce the stigma that some have placed upon it. And those of us more out in the open? We need you who are not. We’re all around, we’ll help and support you.
So come out. Speak up. Tell your friends and neighbors you’re a responsible and safe shooter and you are not ashamed of it. You’ll probably gain a range buddy or two. And you will fight the false idea that gun owners are freaks.
Note: This was original an editorial for a FB page I administered, posted October 4, 2015. I believe the page is long gone, but I felt the content was worth getting back onto the ‘net.
Gun owners, it’s time to “come out.” by Jerod J. Husvar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Eating our own. Division among gun owners, the antigun advocate’s best friend.
The fight to protect and maintain the right to keep and bear arms in the United States is ongoing, played as both a long and short game by both sides of the debate. With recent mass shootings, the topic of gun control is in the headlines, chambers of government and on people’s mind. We also have the leadership of the National Rifle Association in a dumpster fire fight, taking away from their power to advocate. What’s worse however, is how many gun owners and potential gun owners have been taken out of the fight by the attitudes and division brought by other gun owners.
One only has to look as far as any gun posting on social media, or the comments on any article, to see this division. It comes from the focus on 1911 vs Glock, AR15 vs AK, or anything related to value-branded firearms such as Taurus, Bersa or God forbid, Hi Point. The animosity, anger, bitterness and rudeness on these posts drives away both seasoned gun owners and new people alike. “It’s all in good fun” doesn’t have much weight when you are the one whose question about the new Hi Point is shouted down, mocked and belittled.
I have been actively involved in protecting Second Amendment rights since the mid 1980’s and have seen division used to the detriment of it for the entire time. Pistol vs rifle guys, hunters vs target shooters, traditional arms vs military style weapons. More recently it has been high dollar weapons vs guns “poors” own. Mockery of the “poverty pony” by those who can afford HK 416’s and the like. All are supposed to be “in good fun.” The problem is, in typical internet human nature, people don’t know when to stop. Or a group gangs up on the Anderson rifle or Taurus guy. All too often, that person gets a bad taste, or worse, walks away entirely.
How many votes can the pro-gun cause afford to lose? How many potential gun owners can we insult away? How many people will end up not owning something that is “good enough” because they were convinced that they should wait until they could spend $100 more and pay for it with their well-being or life because they were convinced that they shouldn’t buy a Hi Point when they were endangered and couldn’t afford anything else?
These are very real scenarios and not only are gun owners eating our own, we’re keeping others from joining us by our words and actions, and potentially endangering lives. We need to change our approach. We need to treat allies respectfully. In the end, we just need to not be jerks.
What do you think? If you find value in this post, please, share it.
Postcards Of My Life #pcoml No 13: Going to #DairyQueen
An article in USA Today this morning tells the tale of a two year old Minnesota boy who rode his electric toy tractor to the county fair without his parents knowing he was going. Slacker… Back in my youth, I walked if I was going to make such an excursion…
From 1976 to 1978 my family lived in the now-gone Kent State University married student housing complex, called the Allerton Apartments. To be honest, I can only speculate that my 3-4 year old brain’s logic involved “I want ice cream. We don’t have ice cream. DQ always has ice cream. I’m going to go to DQ.” This all went down in the morning, apparently before my parents were awake. I grabbed some money, climbed out the front window and went walking. I don’t recall much about the actual trip other than I got to Dairy Queen and they were not open yet.
I walked almost a mile and must have been frustrated and must have decided to wait so I crossed Ohio SR 43 and walked down to University Plaza and I guess I ended up at some insurance company who realized that I probably should not be out wandering alone, gave me a hot cocoa and a chair, and called the police. I must have known where I lived because they gave me a ride home and the version in my head involves them knocking on the door, no one having realized that I left, and my folks being upset. I should ask my mother if that’s how it all ended up, she likes ice cream, too.
So yeah, in my day, when we wanted to toddle off on grand adventures, we walked. Kids these days have it easy.
Hoose's House 