"I don't have enough time" Syndrome
by Angel Shamaya
Director, KeepAndBearArms.com

We've all used the statement "I don't have enough time" at one time or another. Some people use it as a mantra--a regularly repeated statement which magically aides Avoidance. Let's address the reality of the issue from a few different perspectives and see if we can yield some new and different thinking. At issue is not whether or not we will reclaim America; the question is how quickly we can do it. Because the "I don't have enough time" phenomenon seems to be such a convenient out for so many gun owners, somebody needs to say something. Might as well be me, and might as well be now.

First, let's nail down some facts.

• Each of us has 24 hours in each day. If you know how I can get more, please let me know.
• Each of us has things we "have to" do. They include family obligations, eating, sleeping, bathing, and earning a living.
• Each of us has choices on a menu of how to invest our extra time. (Notice I didn't say "spend"; when you spend something, it is gone. Investing time produces a yield, just like when you invest money.)
• Each of us has priorities on how we choose to invest our precious extra time.

These are the facts. Irrefutable, non-negotiable, unarguable.

What really comes to bear on the "I don't have enough time" excuse, then, is a set of priorities. We each prioritize differently, and we each make our own choices about what comes first on our menu of options.

Some gun owners invest 14 hours each week shooting, reloading, calculating ballistics, cleaning their guns, reading up on the latest guns being manufactured, et cetera. I use the term "invest" here because there most certainly is a yield. Improved skill, refined ability to hit your target, keeping up with reloads, staying abreast of new developments, and, perhaps most importantly, FUN. All of these are worthy yields, and each of them has its place.

And some gun owners do none of the above but have a gun or two and some ammo tucked away for a rainy day. They find themselves consumed by life's agenda and set aside no time to help out the folks who defend Liberty. Their priorities are not wrong; they are just different.

When I was 14 or so, every summer morning while other kids were sleeping, I was up before sunrise, enthusiastically making my way to the fields where my grandmother's next casserole awaited me. Most summer-laden teenagers prioritized sleeping until noon; by noon I was showered, and my food was cleaned and in the freezer. Neither of our priorities were wrong; they were simply different.

Today, we are seeing widespread signs that our children are being deprived the same menu option to hunt that I was granted in my youth. We are also seeing rapes and murders in cities and states where good, lawful, peaceable, long-suffering gun owners are now "not allowed" to defend their own bodies from malicious predatory attacks by armed and dangerous criminals; they are being told by law to submit to such attacks and are left to deal with the emotional and physical scars--if they are allowed to live. And we are seeing "leaders" in this country telling us we should register our guns when we all know by simple research that every registration throughout history had led to confiscation--no exceptions. In short, we have problems--concerns that will not go away if left unchecked.

It is true that more people--Defenders of Liberty--are needed to win back our America. Tens of thousands of us are working regularly, most of us daily, to stop the assault on our rights. And we require assistance--help from freedom-loving citizens in our mutually-beneficial cause.

So how could we prioritize a bit more time to assure our own and future generations can live in a free America? What menu options could we shift around a bit in our busy lives to find some extra time to pitch in for the cause of freedom? How can we help, and do more?

"Glad you asked," he wrote to himself, praying someone was really listening. "Let me tell you where I DO NOT WASTE TIME."