George Orwell wrote a lot of important things, and in those works, you can find many excellent quotes. Perhaps the most important words he ever penned were these, “That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”
Orwell subscribed to mild socialism for the majority of his life, but his personal experience with extremists and dictators forced him to eventually see the light. He knew, perhaps better than anyone of the era, that socialist dictators were dangerous, and that they would always try to disarm the populations they aimed to control.
We don’t have to go back 60 years to prove him right. Venezuela is living evidence that Orwell figured it out long ago.
2012
Before the world was finished making Mayan calendar Jokes, Venezuela was hard at work on new gun laws. Hugo Chavez was still in power, and he was dealing with the fact that violent crime had risen precipitously during his reign.
Venezuela already had fairly strict gun laws in play. Citizens had to have a state permit to be able to purchase firearms. More importantly, the firearm industry was nationalized. The government had full control over who could buy weapons.
Despite that, Venezuela was one of the most dangerous countries in the world. So, under the guise of protecting the people, Chavez championed complete gun control. He passed a law that did away with citizen firearm permits. Only state-sponsored groups could access weapons (namely the police and military). The nation cheered this change. They genuinely believed that it would stop crime and make things better.
Was it Worth It?
We’ll get to Maduro in a minute. First, it’s important to review the efficacy of Chavez’s gun control. From 2012 to 2019, gun control remained extreme. Gun ownership among civilians steadily dropped. At the same time, murder, homicide and gun-crime rates only grew. By some estimates, the homicide rate doubled in that time span. Caracas went from one of the most dangerous cities in the world to the most dangerous by a landslide. Gun control very clearly failed to achieve its goals.
Well, that’s not entirely correct. Gun control failed to reduce murder. Chavez stated another goal when he championed the gun ban. He clearly proclaimed that he wanted to disarm the population. This goal was achieved to the bane of the current population of Venezuela.
You know where this is going. Nicolas Maduro is a mad despot. The socialist dictator has forced starvation upon his people. When innocent civilians tried to accept foreign aid so they wouldn’t starve to death, Maduro ordered the military to open fire on them. He has absolute control over a country that openly claims his rule is a violation of their constitution and laws.
He’s a merciless dictator, and the Venezuelan people have absolutely no hope of ending his rule. They can pray that either he will step down or foreign powers will intervene. In either case, the future of Venezuela is not in the hands of the Venezuelans.
George Orwell was right.
Applying Lessons
It’s too late to spare Venezuela from the consequences of their decisions. We can hope that foreign intervention will find a way to resolve the issue as peacefully as possible, but at this point, the most we can do is learn from their mistakes.
The situation in Venezuela went exactly how every single conservative in the United States predicted. Socialism destroyed the economy and bankrupted the nation. It led to mass starvation, the nationalization of every industry, the disarming of the people and an immovable tyrant.
Despite this clear and obvious example, the left still champions Venezuelan policy. They still want socialism, nationalized industry and complete gun control. There are many important political fights in our country, but protecting the 2nd Amendment matters the most. The left might be able to institute devastating policy and destroy our economy.
As long as we keep a rifle on the wall of every home, the left can’t instill an immovable tyrant. The most important way to protect our future and prevent the United States from becoming the next Venezuela is with the right to bear arms. Don’t let the media circus distract you. When we disarm our population, we lose all hope.
A rifle on the wall is not the answer to keeping our nation free. I know many will get upset and scream that I am wrong, I don’t know what I’m saying. But I know I am right. To keep our country safe from becoming just like
Venezuela a rifle on the wall is just a collector of dust and rust. I hate to say this but you had better wake up and take that rifle down from the wall. Clean it, learn to use it effectively and teach your children everything you can about that rifle. You must stockpile ammunition and other things that will be needed when the left finally declares their true intentions. Take that rifle down from the wall, take your fear and put it in a box with any appeasement you might think will work, lock that box and bury it under a freeway somewhere.
No, a rifle on the wall is not what will keep you free. Freedom is costly and if you want your children to be free somebody must pay the price. A rifle collecting dust and rust will not buy freedom. God knows I wish there was some other way to be free and be sure our children stay free. There is no other option, the left have made that clear as a bell. They will not negotiate. They will not do anything to make us believe we can trust them. They have one set of rules for us and another set for them. Over and over and over the left chips away at our freedoms and tells us it is for our own good. Take that rifle down from the wall! Pray that the left wakes up to what their leaders have done, are doing, and will do to them when they finish with us. God help us all. P.S. Not to scare you but think about this for a moment, if anything happens to Trump, the vice-president takes over, if anything happens to him guess who becomes our great Commander in Chief? Give up? Nancy Pisslousy, left head witch. The green woman with the pointy nose and hat.
My rifles are not on the wall, they are kept clean, lubricated, ready for use against any who threaten our freedom or safety.
Gun control has nothing to do with crime, mass shootings( which are way overstated by the liberal left)….it is about one thing and one thing only: being able to control the population without the threat of rebellion…the liberal left and the globalists only want one thing….and that is to be completely free to ride ruff shod over all peoples……..this is nothing more than 1939 germany ….take away the ability of people to defend themselves against a tyrinacial government and they can then do as they please with little or no reprocussions ….PEOPLE, PLEASE NEVER , EVER GIVE YOUR GUNS UP OR YOU WILL BE SLAVES TO THE RICH AND THE CORRUPT POLITICIANS !!!! Fight to the very end to keep your right to bear arms….
I can agree with Henry Goodfellow except his “slaves to the rich and the corrupt politicians.” We Americans have the ability and should use it to elect new, better politicians. And we NEED TERM LIMITS.
When Jesus said”Forgive them Father , they know not what they do.” the same could be said for many millions of the young liberals in this country. It is our fault for not making sure that in our schools ALL of our history was told and the whys. Get rid of the liberal, progressive teachers and local government leaders. Do not blindly vote, vote after educating yourself on the candidates.
I hate to say it, but you have hit it right on the head. Knowledge of how and especially when it is necessary to use that gun is vital. How many “gun turn in” programs began with ” take down that dusty rifle because it is doing nothing but decorate a wall and invite home thieves to break in to steal it”? That is step 1 in removing them from homes. I am not in favor of everyone owning guns, as there are some who physically and mentally are not capable, but any who are should consider it their American duty as a citizen and when needed, patriot.
When I wanted to go to Iraq in 2004, I was told that I was too old to go in uniform, so I went as a civilian to support our troops. One of our jokes was that we had more combat experience in the drivers of the white trucks (civilian contractor trucks were white) than in the drivers of the green trucks. (military vehicles) The “kids” who escorted and protected us were also well aware of that and we spent a lot of down time discussing our experiences with them. I’ve had military riding in my truck go as far as when things looked a bit scary actually offering me access to their “back up” gun. I remember a very young female soldier who when we took fire immediately and without hesitation returned fire so quickly that the people shooting at us stopped shooting and went to cover. She then looked at me like she was embarrassed. When I gave her a thumbs up, she realized that she had been doing her job and you never saw such a big smile and look of self satisfaction in your life.
Most don’t realize exactly how many combat experienced veterans are out there living their lives as quietly as possible. I joke occasionally about my old, retired and these days not very healthy self being what “Rambo” really looks like today. The truth is that I might not be able to stand on the line, but I can still advise, teach and if needed sit back and snipe. My life motto is now: “I’m too old to fight, too fat to run, but i’m still a great shot.” It doesn’t take much physical effort to get to the range and practice. Not everyone needs to practice combat drills. What you need to know is how to load, aim and fire effectively and how to safely change your position when required, no matter your physical condition.
Just remember that even someone using a walker and O2 bottle can still aim and shoot when needed and has lived long enough that nothing intimidates them any more.
If the Democrats get their way , we won’t be any better than Venezuela,,,,!
THIS IS WHY BEN FRANKLIN ONCE FAMOUSLY SAID “THE TREE OF LIBERTY NEEDS BLOOD TO REFRESH IT”!
Actually, Fox, it was TJ:
“The British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, & what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. yet where does this anarchy exist? where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachusets? and can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of it’s motives. they were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. god forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. the people cannot be all, & always, well informed. the past which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive; if they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. we have had 13. states independant 11. years. there has been one rebellion. that comes to one rebellion in a century & a half for each state. what country before ever existed a century & half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. the remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. what signify a few lives lost in a century or two? the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. it is it’s natural manure.”
–Thomas Jefferson. letter to William Smith, Paris Nov. 13, 1787
it is getting worse….almost terminal…..I thought we were getting rid of thieves like Obama, The Clintons, Harry Reid,…Pelosy…..etc…We got rid of Obama, The Clintons and Reid but Pelousy is still there still in power and stealing…( OH,.. for my charges I stand behind a SEC investigation of the above……all violated laws and rules to make them selves richer……read it all in the book “throw them all out”…..all the proof is there)…Here in NY we had liberals getting more and more radical….first Bloomberg then DiBlasio, now the crazy which AOC who does not even know her basic geography ( her gaphs in Geography are on line…just Google it)…plus her impressions of economics are right out of Marx and Lenin ( and has not any one told her that Russia failed?……the Communist countries of Europe are mostly going Democratic and China has taken on some kind of Communist-Free Enterprise system, which is bogged down in debt and corruption)..WE don’t have much chance…When we have Demoncrats yelling for gun control and taking away our Constitutional rights ( Obumma did that with all his Executive Orders)……I would say the edge of the cliff for America is close…very close….Unless the Democrats are voted out in 2020…..Trump may have been the last President of the USA…..Bernie Sanders, or some other Commie Socialist will be the next Emperor of the South……America will have failed and a new Socialist Country will wither and die on the vine like all the others…..Russia, Cuba, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, ,,,,,,,,….bury your guns and ammo…but better yet….get out the vote and vote the Commies out of office…..NOW….before its too late……..Trump may be a jerk but he is doing more than the life long politicos…..I must give him credit for doing something……….but its up to each of us to vote and fight at the local state and national levels……Can u see a country run by the Clinton Cartel or wild lady AOC?………..GOD HELP US……..but as I learned in Catechism class….” God helps those who help themselves”……!!!!!!
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