Life Isn't Fair!

“I don't think it's fair!” he complained to me, “I shouldn't lose three things for that. My hunting license...”

“Life isn't fair!” I quickly interrupted, “I don't care what you think, when it comes to firearm safety, there are no second chances.”

My father was a public safety officer. Growing up, we went to the police firing range almost every month. Frequently two or three times a month. Firearm safety was not an option. It was grilled into us from the time we could walk and talk. If you were big enough to hold a gun, you were big enough to be taught how to use a gun. And no gun is a toy. That bears repeating; no gun, not even a cap gun, no gun is a toy. Every single one of them has the potential to do harm if not treated with respect and handled carefully.

Seven kids in the house, and always there were loaded guns. Whether or not Dad was home, there was always a loaded gun for Mom's protection. But because of Dad's continual training on the subject, and heavy use of a belt if we didn't obey, there was never a single incident of a firearm accident. It just wasn't allowed.

Today, we live in a different era. Today's media encourages kids to be disrespectful, to not obey, that parents don't know anything. How wrong they are...

Someone close to me once complained that “Society had abandoned them.” My response was quite simple; “Society hasn't abandoned you. You have abandoned society.” It is time for us to regain the mores, the customs, the respect, of prior generations.

You see, life really isn't fair. You either learn and grow, or you get hurt and possibly even die. When it comes to things like guns and lawn mowers and chainsaws and cars you either treat them properly or else you or someone else gets hurt. Sometimes fatally. There are no second chances.

Gravity doesn't care whether or not you believe in it. It just is. You use it or you find out the hard way. The same thing with electricity. Treat it properly, and it is a great tool. Treat it wrong, treat it with disrespect, and you had better be awful lucky.

We aren't here to have an easy ride. We are here to learn and to grow. We aren't here by accident. We are here by choice. And we need to do all we can to take advantage of our choices, to figure out what works and what doesn't. And to treat certain things with care and respect. Because, if we don't, someone could get hurt. Someone could die.

And that someone could be us.