Value

We have a closet down in our basement that is full of old boxes. I am not one to keep things. I hate clutter, but over the years I have allowed a few boxes for each person that hold a few things which represent the personality, character and/ or contain an item of value to members of the family. It is a way to preserve our history.

When my grandfather died my father gave me several boxes that were of value to my grandfather. My father didn’t want them. The boxes have items in them that have little pieces of family history. My family is actually, sort of, prominent in Illinois if you can believe that. Our family home is now a museum and every 10 years there is a town play depicting our heritage. The town library has a big book that includes my children’s names. I have a brick in my family room from the original outhouse that was destroyed a few years ago. I know, a brick from on outhouse…don’t be jealous. There is even a street named AGirl. Ok, not AGirl. It’s actually my maiden name Gottschalk. Homewood, Illinois. Kind of a dirty town. A very dirty town. It’s demise is sad.

I digress.

One of the boxes is full of newspaper clippings of when my cousin Billy died in Vietnam.
My passive nature runs deep. My cousin wanted to join the Marines and be a helicopter pilot. He wanted to defend his country, but my family they are not fighters. My aunt, a lovely woman, convinced Billy that he should be a rescue pilot. To fight was not honorable. If he insisted on going to war he should be on the side of saving.

It cost him his life.

On a mission to a rescue others, he was shot down.

His name is on The Wall in DC. William Gottschalk.

Now, in all fairness, even those who fought on the offense died. Many died. Many, many, many. There are no guarantees.

That is the fallacy of the pacifist. The “peace” loving. The “good”. They believe there is a moral superiority to being a victim. Somehow there is a higher value in laying down and taking it. They don’t actually want to lie down, but believing in the power of doing so, that makes them immune.

I am here to tell you, there is no such immunity.

Those in power, the ones telling you that you are kinder and more gentle if your turn in your weapons, they are not going to take it. The President isn’t going to take it. He has armed security because he feels that his life is far more valuable than yours or mine. Of course, he should be protected by the the best of the best at tax payers expense. Again, in all fairness, if we are going to compare lives of worth, his does rank at the top. He is after all the leader of the Free World…well, semi-free world, well, America. We are free right?

Anyway, the point is, he is important. You and me, not so much.

I wonder when my children lay their heads down at night as they close their eyes and drift peacefully off to sleep if they do so believing Obama will protect them or if they do so knowing their father and I will.

I wonder who they think has more value…

33 thoughts on “Value

  1. When your children lay down at night, they KNOW you and their father will protect them. They KNOW you value them above all else.

    (And I bet M dreams happy dreams of her momma kickin’ some bad guy butt!….and then tweeting about it!)

    If everyone realized that we all have value, if no one treated others as “less than”, why, we really could just use our guns for competitive shooting.

      • But we sure would have fun trying!!!

        I spoke with my 77 yr old aunt this morning. She supports me carrying, is pro teachers having guns, and was not surprised at all to learn I’ve shot a sniper rifle (this whole convo was re: school safety). I told her I don’t feel the need to own a sniper rifle, i shoot from a purely defensive mindset. She thinks all ARs should be banned. I told her we should have the choice…this is still America, right? she said “this isn’t the America I grew up in.” Right on, Aunty!

  2. Good point. I coincidentally just wrote a post on the value of dogs, who incidentally, are some of my favorite “people”. There are a lot of things people can learn from the faith and loyalty of dogs.

  3. Nice succinct post AGirl. What you say is true. I fear lines in the sand are being drawn again. I also fear that there will be no dumping tea in the harbor this time.

  4. A very wish man once told me “pacifism gets people dead.” I believe that in all my heart. And history proves it.

  5. Awesomeness as always. My eldest son who is all of four ask sometimes if we will keep him and his brothers safe. I’m not sure what he thinks we are keeping him safe from as he just says “bad guys” if pressed. We sways reassure him yes he and his brothers are loved and yes WE will keep them safe.
    And DAMIT that is one promise I intend to keep!

    • Good for you!

      I don’t know that I can keep them safe all the time, but I sure as heck am going to try and I absolutely know no one else can do as good a job as I(we) can.

  6. Somehow,I have a feeling that between you and the Marine,your kids feel safe at home.Your example,being aware and proactive and training as much as you do,is not unnoticed.
    Also,thanks for sharing little bits of your family history,to give us more info to round out our picture of your life experiences.(Ever thought about running for office?Your just the kind of AGirl I would vote for.)
    Bill

    • Bill, I can say with 100% certainty that they do feel say. I wasn’t sure that would ever happen for E, but I tell ya she knows her dad and I not only have a desire to keep her safe(all the children), but we have the means to do it as well.

      And, not only no, but hell no on running for office:)

  7. The only thing I COULD give my children when we were being “hunted” (<- their term, not mine) was that I would lay down my life for them.

    You've given your kids a wonderful gift of security.

  8. I stop in to your blog several times a week and am never disappointed. I especially liked the part about preserving family history. I, too, have things that when I’m gone, I hope my children will appreciate and value enough to keep them. As for the part about turning in your guns. . . I just last night un-friended someone on facebook who posted “I think everyone that sells a semi-automatic weapon and everyone that buys one should be charged with a felony. . . we don’t need more guns, we need less guns.” Needless to say, being a law abiding citizen who owns firearms, I have no tolerance for that mindset.

    • You know I have become less willing to friend folks who want to make criminals out of law abiding citizens. In all my anti gun days I never tried to or advocated for changing the Constitution and I can not for the life of me understand people wanting to. If someone is anti gun and doesn’t want a gun fine, we can differ, but if they are for taking away my rights…

  9. Great Point! I think all parents know the answer to-

    “I wonder when my children lay their heads down at night as they close their eyes and drift peacefully off to sleep if they do so believing Obama will protect them or if they do so knowing their father and I will.”

    Any good parent would lay down their own life for their children without a second thought. Carry on Patriots!

  10. Many things to think about here, from the comments as well as the article written. Imho….history is one of the most important things one can learn, as long as it is true history, not some perverted bs to suit some political party.

    That said, next is this “thing” of pacifisim. I don’t get it. I really don’t. Never ever has it worked. As for the individual, I really can’t find to words to describe it. Yes, a lot of people are shy and maybe even more than a little introverted….that is not the same as pacifisim imo. Now this may be offensive to some…I’m sorry for that but this is just my take and belief on it….here goes; I believe life is precious….loved ones, spouses, family, etc. I do not believe it is sacred…no way. All one has to do is look at history as well as biblical history. We get so upset and hung up with this “collateral damage” thing. Well…..how about the command God gave the children of Israel when they entered Canann? He gave the order to kill every living thing. I am not trying to make a “stand” for this being right and that being wrong here…. What I am doing is trying to tell folks to follow their heart…Some are or have more of a “warrior” spirit than others. In short, in some things there is no “right” or “wrong”.

    • There are tough choices to be made for sure. Each of us has to be able to look ourselves in the mirror. For me, I could no longer to that knowing I didn’t have the ability to protect my family.

    • Curt, I went to college with several Mennonites and Quakers. Two of them were military history majors (go figure). It led to several long, interesting conversations about pacifism, civic duty, and personal responsibility. As you say, it is a personal choice. I disagree with their stance, but I respect that these guys put a lot of thought into their pacifism and that they acknowledge the potential costs to themselves and their families. And they all acknowledge that only in the Western World can pacifists survive for more than a generation or two at best.

  11. AGirl, I only know you from your blog, but in my opinion, you and your family are all more valuable and your lives are more important than Barack Hussein Obama II. Mostly because you seem to be good and decent, but also because you aren’t trying to destroy the United States of America.

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  13. Someone once accused Mohandas Gandhi of being a pacifist. He snapped back he i no ways was one. He was always an activist.
    And you know what he said about guns.

    Thanks for a terrific post.

    gfa

  14. I don’t get the whole “I wanna be a victim” mindset at all. I see no value, nor freedom, in such a stance.

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