I’ve been reading letters on the Tribune-Star’s editorial page and, of course, the airwaves are full of right-wing commentators like Rush Limbaugh and that ilk. They’re all saying the same thing … and that is the awful “government” is going to reach out, take away our guns, and crush us.
What a pile of monkey manure this is. This republic is just a couple of hundred years old and we haven’t had any great dictators and that sort of politician. All of these men who are making this cry are men who are mostly unfit for military duty. Some of these groups, such as the Michigan Militia, are well-armed, but will find it difficult standing up to well-trained, well-armed soldiers who have modern equipment.
So here’s the real crux of the matter. The super money doesn’t want anyone who disagrees with their political attitudes to have a free vote. They don’t wish the government to have Social Security, Medicare, or any of these so-called entitlements. The big con is the political right wing spreading the word that world government is on its way and we’ll become a socialist state.
So they keep this group of naysayers armed, in a fever, and the truth of the matter is simply this … it’s not your liberal neighbor who is going to pull the plug on their freedoms, it will be the same people who run the NRA. You know … no government except for the government THEY approve of. Back in the 1930s when the Great Depression was on, a bunch of super-rich men tried to get an Army general to take over the government with an armed effort. Fortunately for America, it failed. It was real and the same type of people with the same hatred and want of power are still there today.
You see, our government was not imposed upon us … we actually stood in defiance of King George III of England. Some of the smartest men, and the bravest, stood up to make this a free nation. Our forefathers did not accept a government that was already in operation. They built this from the ground up. So every human being who is a citizen and of legal age could have a vote. And they still can today. (Originally only men who were landowners could vote, and the state legislators would choose the men who would become senators for their state.) Our government sits in Washington being what you allow them to be. In other words, this government, this stupid gridlocked Congress, is our fault.
I would suggest a course in civics … you know, how the government is run. Once we know that and become more intelligent voters, this kind of crazy idea the government is out to get you will fade into the trash bin where it belongs.
It is unlikely we will see United Nations’ forces trying to take over our country. The governments who volunteer their soldiers to aid the cause of other nations around the world can only get there if we fly them there. I guess everybody wants to be the kind of hero our history books are full of, but if you see United Nations’ soldiers wearing their blue helmets marching down any street in Terre Haute, I’ll volunteer to be on permanent KP for those who think they and their guns are here to save us. Like Rush Limbaugh, they’re beating the same drum, saying the same dumb things, and they are here because rich, powerful men want it.
So, it’s the big con job. You think by screaming about the Constitution you’re saving it. In reality, you’re playing into the hands of the people who want it gone. But, just in case I’m wrong, I’ll keep my potato-peeling knife sharpened. It won’t be the first time I have spent tedius hours on KP.
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
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RONN MOTT: Your Government
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RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.
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Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013
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READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013
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MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
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The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
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READERS' FORUM: May 12, 2013
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I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
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Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
CANDLES event plants new seed: On April 26, CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center hosted an event called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: A Celebration of Spring” at the Apple House. Our purpose was to introduce people to our concept of forgiveness as a seed for peace.
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RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
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EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
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Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
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RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 6, 2013
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MARK BENNETT: Should I stay or should I go?
Some have their Bill Clinton-era Cavalier packed (with the trunk bungee-ed shut), apartment cleaned (except for the fridge), and iPhone GPS locked onto the fastest route out of Terre Haute. Others are staying — until they find a better job, or because they’re starting a career here, or because this town feels like home. In each case, a new stage of life begins today.
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EDITORIAL: Education remains worth the cost
Within the next few weeks, each of the local colleges will have conducted graduation ceremonies. A few days later, a different Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns for commencement — the seniors at five Vigo County high schools. It is still a smart, worthy aspiration for those high school grads to replicate the achievement of those college students by earning a higher-education degree.
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College Class of '13 gets a little extra advice
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