I'm a Baaaaad Cowboy.... Sometimes

On this Memorial Day Holiday of 2012, and in remembrance of the fallen, who have given us so much, I find it appropriate to offer a general apology. Though, I apologize for any discomfort the transgressions of which I will speak have caused; I must honestly say, I can not be ashamed for them. Yet I do remain, often, a bad Cowboy.

Though it was from a training accident, I am a disabled Vet. I don't say that for sympathy. I don't want it, and won't accept it. I say it only as background, hoping it might offer help in understanding.

I've read where; "There are moments in your life that define you, that speak of who you are."

Those moments, in my life, have made me Intensely Passionate about Freedom and Liberty. I have seen the human race at its absolute, most depraved, worst... and paradoxically, at that same moment, its absolute and glorious finest.

In my "sermons" I have generally been careful to say, clearly, that each and every person must make their own choices in this life. That whatever those choices are, they are theirs to make... without judgement or criticism. Defense of that Right is what I served for.

At the same time, it is my desire to be a catalyst... an agent that prods and provokes people to stretch and reach beyond their "comfort zone" and strive for the true glory that is Freedom. It is my belief that the citizens of this society are conditioned, trained and propagandized by the system to be fearful of risk. To recoil from and reject risk at almost any cost. It is through this conditioning and the promise of future security in exchange for ever more of your liberty that the system grows its power and control; which is the one and only goal of any government.

It is a facet of my personal philosophy, for My Self that; An intense and all consuming focus on current and future security that seems to occupy and enmesh the majority of people's thoughts and efforts, is a cancer that consumes my todays if I allow it.

To sacrifice Necessary Liberty in the name of a fleeting and ephemeral Security is something I simply can not do. It is a personality trait that I know, many see as a flaw... but... it is my flaw.

It is also my opinion that the greatest part of any "security" is mostly fleeting and imaginary, and largely based on small pieces of paper that can be devalued without warning. Or consumed by the cancer of inflation over which there is no defense; and which is largely controlled by those selling the imaginary security in the first place. "Out of chaos comes control."

But... This is only My Opinion, which I live by and with... within the fevered confines of my own brain. 

In my desire to promote the joy that is Freedom and Liberty I on occasion, have found that I can become excessively assertive and aggressive in pursuit of that dream. The dream of dying knowing that something I did in my life led some few others to Freedom.

The Love I have for Liberty; Born of a sure and certain knowledge of the inherent costs and risks that make it so Precious; can sometimes blind a man to the reality that others might not Value it to the same degree, as is their Right.

It is also my belief that most have never known true Freedom, concealed under their blankets of Imagined security. It is my belief, Spoken freely. If you disagree, that is your Right. The Right that I and others served to Protect and Defend.

I have been advised and I believe it is true that I am endowed with a higher tolerance for risk than that carried by many if not most others. I do not fear failure or death. I have failed many times. I expect to know a few more.

What I fear is Life without Freedom.

I believe it is right to be so. However; It is not right to attempt to impose my belief on anyone or bully them into adherence to it; no matter how correct I might believe myself to be.

The definition of Liberty and Freedom dictates that anyone, striving to support and promote it must respect the values and choices of all others, within their own lives, as they demand such respect for their own. On occasion, my passion for Freedom has led me to say things in ways which I understand can be misread as denigrating those opinions of others. That has never and will never be my wish or intention. It is simply the consequence of an Overzealous lust for Freedom. For this I apologize.

I have put my life on the line in defense of the Freedom of which I speak. I would never, knowingly, betray that Treasure. My Freedom means more to me than Life.

So... If my words in Defense of Liberty have ever Offended or seemed excessively Aggressive; I apologize. I hope that you will understand that while I can not guarantee they will not be repeated, and though my Passions may lead me to speak too loudly at times... I hope only that you will understand my true motive, and tolerate my occasional overzealous expression.

This old soldier apologizes for any discomfort his passions may produce and asks for your forgiveness for the vice with which he is afflicted; His Passionate, all consuming, and sometimes overbearing, Love of Freedom. 

Brian