It's time to adopt a foxhole mentality...

One of the things I hate with posting on the internet, is you are really limited in how much you can say. Say too much and no one will hear you. Say too little and people will be left to make their own (often incorrect) assumptions.

Now my last post certainly got some attention. Some people liked my ideas; others dismissed them as a noble but foolish quest. Some accused me of thinking I was a messenger of God promising to lead you all to the Promised Land.

And I also got to meet the spies, fanatics etc. More on that in my next post ;)

Now I am no prophet. And I am not trying to start my own group. I simply would like to see much more unity and cooperation on a local, state (and yes) national level.

Some of you hate my ideas for various reasons. Some are afraid my words will splinter an already splintered alliance. Others fear the opposite; that my words will help inspire and unite you in some way. But that’s ok.

I know trying to get you guys to work together on any level is difficult. If it were easy it would have been done long ago by those who have “been in the trenches” for 10-20 years.

These people seem put out that a relative newcomer like myself should open his mouth so strongly. They wish to know my credentials, my background, some ask “what have I done for the movement?” They seem to feel I need to pay my dues before raising my voice.

My credentials are these; I am a dad… a daddy… a parent…. a non custodial parent… a man who has had his heart ripped out of him and his child stolen from him by a documented sociopath with the courts blessing. I am a man who will not be satisfied by getting his child back. I am a man who has dedicated the rest of his life to fighting for equal custody and fair treatment for both parents, so that the lost time with my child isn’t for nothing.

I feel like the Lee Marvin character in the movie “The Dirty Dozen” trying to get a bunch of strong willed characters to work together. And to paraphrase Lee’s character, I almost wish you guys WOULD all hate me…at least then you’d all have THAT MUCH in common.

I am getting as bad as you guys, with these war analogies, but hey guess what… this IS a war. Only we too often don’t treat it as such. If I found myself in a foxhole with a bunch of other soldiers, here’s how I would look at em….

I would not care what sorta gun they were using (or if they were too liberal or conservative for my tastes) so long as that gun were pointed in the right direction. If they were a lousy shot I would try and help improve their aim (or in this case encourage them to learn about the law so they could better fight their own case) but I would still rather have em next to me even if their aim sucks, cause even the worst shot can get lucky once and awhile.

I would not worry about having the biggest foxhole or the most guys in it, and I would not keep count, nor boast of my kills. I would measure my success or failure on any given day in terms of how much damage I had inflicted upon the enemies in front of me and their overall effort.

I would encourage my unit to work together and to work with all the other units, sharing all intel and ammo. I would not tear down those in command positions, even if I didn’t always agree with their methods, so long as they were doing more harm (to the enemy) then good.

That is not to say I would follow them blindly over a cliff.

Even suspected spies/traitors would be welcome in MY foxhole, so long as their gun was pointed in the right direction. Even when their gun eventually ends up pointed at me; I’d still find a use for em. Their job would be to stay in front of me and collect as much of the enemies spent ammunition as possible.

I would not let the fact that the other side has so many female soldiers convince me that all females are my enemy.

I would welcome ANY who had the guts to fight along side me. I would remember that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Some of you seem to have forgotten that this is a war, and instead of foxholes you are setting up &^%$# country clubs with ridiculously exclusive membership.

We can’t all be "Rambo"... some of us are more closely resemble "Forest Gump."

But you know what… that’s ok too.

Because at the end of the day…Forest Gump's Congressional Medal of Honor is just as big and shiny as Rambo’s anyway.

Joe Carruba