Friday - December 10, 2010

File this Under "Aiming for Multiculturalism"

I handed the Staff Sergeant my ID card and rifle card through the little window which was just big enough to put a shoe box through.  The window was in the door of the armory, and the door was heavy and bullet proof.  He took the cards and disappeared into the back and re-emerged again. He handed me my ID card and then he passed the rifle to me, butt stock first, ejection port open, bolt to the rear.

Last time I turned my rifle in, I had cleaned it meticulously because it had rained on us and I was very concerned about rust.  Usually you'll find small amounts of dirt or grime on a rifle.  The Marines have finally taken to heart the common sense fact that cleaning weapons too vigorously is bad for them.  We still clean them, but we no longer try to scrub the bluing off the metal every time we touch it.  

But even so, I had been very thorough last time out and my rifle should have been pristine.  What I saw was therefore unexpected and something I hadn't really seen on a military rifle before.

My rifle had metal filings all over it.  And I wasn't alone.  All the rifles I saw had the same bright, shiny metal filings.  

About a year ago, a story got traction in the press.  The manufacturer of the rifle scopes we use had bible verse citations engraved on them.  The citations were very small, and you'd really have to be looking for them to see them, and you'd really have to be smart about the Bible to catch on to what they were.  It's odd, but no big deal.

But it turns out that it is a big deal.  A big enough deal that our armorers had to go through every rifle scope we have and file the Bible verse citation off.

What a waste of everyone's time.  Why can't we all just chuckle about it and move on in our lives?  I think muslims are probably more injured by the bullets coming out the muzzle than they are in biblical verses on the rifle scope.  

I guess this result was predictable, if still pathetic.  We're more worried about symbolism than substance.

Hey US government, here's a clue:  Actions speak louder than words, and especially louder than silly citations on a rifle scope.  Fanatical muslims are at war with us.  The more we do silly stuff like this, the less they will respect us.  

Let's concentrate on winning the war with a full effort as though we wanted and intended to win.  Once people see that and are convinced we are going to win, then none of this will matter.  But we're going to continue reacting to the facade and ignoring the reality.

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