Glenn Beck may be a polarizing personality, you either hate him or you love him, but his book Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, should be required reading for all Americans: Left, Right, Liberal or Conservative.

It is a call to arms for each of us to rise up and take back our country from those who would seek to undermine all this is truly “American.”

You do not have to agree with his politics (he is a registered Libertarian) to appreciate his impassioned writing.  Glenn Beck’s Common Sense is a well written, well thought out, and engaging work that blends history of the past, with commentary from the present, and projects it into the future of what American has been, is, and possibly will become.

I know that it is unpopular to disagree with the current administration, but I also disagreed with the last administration.  The direction that this country is headed in is chilling and decidedly UN-American.

The amount of money that we are spending, and preparing to spend, on health care, bail-outs, social security, welfare, and other governmental programs is astonishing.  We are about to (if we haven’t already) burdened not just our children, but our CHILDREN’S children with a national debt that this country may NEVER fully recover from.

I’m not against President Obama for any reasons other than I disagree with his politics and his policies.  I disagreed with Bush as well…  I fear that we are losing our nation.  We are allowing ourselves to get excited over Government welfare and health care, not really understanding that it US (as in you and I) who are footing the bill.

We are losing our civil liberties daily, the Constitution is being shredded, and we are happily skipping along not even paying attention.

We need to wake up.  We need to realize that it’s no longer Democrats VS Republicans, rich VS poor, Left VS Right, it’s the government vs the people.  They need to remember that they work for us.  It’s a country by the people and for the people.  It’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. OUR happiness. We don’t work 40-50 hours a week to support those in Washington D.C., we work for our families and our futures.

But those in D.C. have forgotten that.  We have been too passive, too apathetic, too lazy. Glenn Beck’s Common Sense is a wake up call that we all need to heed.

QUOTABLES

• “The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind.” – Thomas Paine
• “Great and powerful miracles are about to unfold before us – but only if we decide right here and right now that our sun is still rising.”
• “We did not vote to change the Republic, we voted to change Washington [D.C.].”
• “It’s a sad contradiction, but our homes now seem to have plenty of room for everything – except God.”
• “New technology makes us more efficient at work, but we spend less time with our children.”
• “The fastest way to be branded a danger, militia member, or just plain crazy is to quote the Founding Fathers.”
• “‘I am an American’ is not just a collection of words, it is the embodiment of an idea, one that has power only because ‘We the People’ give it power.”

So, as of June 4, 2009 at 3:45 pm, I am a “card-carrying” member of the National Rifle Association.  I am very excited, and a little nervous about having this membership.  I am excited because I fully believe that we need to retain our rights to own/keep/use firearms.  I also believe that there is, and has been, a very conscientious effort by many politicians, for many years, to legislate that right into oblivion.

I am also a little nervous because some of you will say that I am a “right-wing” extremists, a gun-carrying, militia supporting, pro-war, Christian zealot…  Some will say that I am anti-Obama, a racist, too hard on crime, un-supportive of the presidency…

So, I would like to tell you why I joined the NRA.

• I love my country. And I never want to allow the government to forget that the United States is a nation “Of the People, By the People, and For the People.”  Don’t get me wrong, I think that the Government has it’s place, but all too often, the leaders of this country forget that they only wield power that is GIVEN to them.  The NRA helps the legislators to remember why they are there: to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
• I want to protect myself and my family. I live in a state (Florida) that is known for for its high crime statistics.  My truck (yet another NRA stereotype… but it’s a Toyota, take THAT!) has been broken into TWICE, my wife’s car has also been burglarized.  We have a fairly beefy alarm system, and I don’t like Sid to be downtown at night without a weapon.  The NRA helps protect those rights town own handguns.
• I want to support some of my heroes: Law Enforcement. They have arguably one of the THE hardest jobs in America.  They don’t get paid peanuts, and they put their lives on the line EVERY DAY on our behalf.
• I want my voice heard in Washington D.C. The NRA lobbys for less governmental control and more freedom for the American Citizens.  If the American public is not allowed to own firearms, then it won’t be long before we will no longer be a free country.
• I want to be a better American. I want to start standing up for my rights and EARNING my citizenship.  I have to start educating myself and voicing my opinions.  This is one way I know to do that.

George Stephanopoulos said, “Let me make one small vote for the NRA. They’re good citizens. They call their Congressmen. They write. They vote. They contribute. And they get what they want over time.“

I’m not a nut-job, a right-wing extremist, a whacko-conservative, a pro-war zeaolot… I am a man who wants to stand up and represent the BEST of Americans.  I want to make my family proud, to support his country, and live freely in this nation, that I desperately love.  I may not agree 100% with everything that the NRA supports, but that’s the beauty of this country…and it’s that freedom the NRA is working to protect.