we're at war. The other side knows it. Our side's great weakness is that too many of our side doesn't know it.
I agree 100% with the war part.
I'm about half way with what our greatest weakness is though. I believe it's a war of attrition.
Let me explain.
The "other side" is divided as much as we are. Their strength however is that even divided, they manage to hit us on many levels. Every hit from them weakens us. OTOH, we can't do much, if anything, to strike back. Our latest (and only) "victory" was the expiration of the AWB. I'm as happy as anyone that it expired. Truth is though, it wasn't much of a victory. We didn't "gain" anything, we just rolled back some of the financial barriers.
Everything that was on the AWB list was available all along,,,for a price. It didn't change much when it expired, except the price tag on things.
OTOH, if the AWB had been extended, it would have been a "crushing" defeat for us. Even in *victory*, we're too busy celebrating to take the initiative and hit back hard. We had the chance to use the AWB, and the "moral victory" to really pour the coals on and make the anti's squirm. No one stepped up and took charge though,,and the chance slipped past. This is the basic "game plan" you see every Sunday on the NFL.
Recover a fumble - go for the score while the other side is reeling.
We recovered a fumble - and sent a 150lb "scat back" up the middle.
(any Browns fan will catch the "Metcalf up the middle" analogy).
I think "our" greatest weakness is lack of a strong leader. Us "troops" are ready to go, we just simply lack *someone* to send us. As it is, we just sit around waiting and growning weaker. Things like Leatherman supporting an anti like Kerry seem like small things. All those small things add up though and just weaken our position a bit at a time. One of these days, I'm afraid people are going to wake up to the fact that we're getting to the point where we just can't fight anymore. Looking at the "list" of companies, I'm rather disgusted by it. Not that Leatherman is on it, but the number of "Outdoor" companies that are in effect saying "Kerry is a sportsman" ergo "Kerry supports the sporting purpose of the 2nd amendment" <--Ain't no such thing.
Sorry to ramble and sorry if it doesn't make sense. I get kind of rattled when i get good and PO'ed.