America needs a morality transfusion and a spinal implant

Ocoee man, 91, shoots at, repels home invaders who threatened his wife

quote:

Now 91, he scared off two home invaders with his 38-caliber revolver when the men threatened his wife of 72 years at their home east of Ocoee. "I was going to kill him either way," the retired jack-of-all-trades said Wednesday. "She's all I've got to live for . . . Why would I want to live?"

This man is an example of the generation that built this nation that we now enjoy, and who sacrificed to make America great. This is the generation that understood what it meant to be honorable, and to show courage. I was exposed to this same example of courage while living in California. A transient who was angry at the world for whatever reason, walked into a local restaurant with a revolver and a semi automatic pistol, and started to randomly shoot the customers there. While the patrons cowered, an elderly man of courage, who had served honorably in the U.S. Military during the Korean War, and was also former Law Enforcement got up and rushed the assailant from the other end of the counter as he was shooting and succeeded in knocking him to the floor, even after taking four rounds. This heroic man succumbed to his wounds, but saved the lives of fourteen people in the process, including a young mother who was a waitress he knew, as this was a regular hangout for locals. I felt honored to attend the memorial dedication for this hero, because it reminded me of the America that I remembered, an America with respect, honor, and most of all courage. A take action America.

My readers have probably noticed a trend in my recent reporting, with a fair amount of coverage being dedicated to the crimes being perpetrated against the elderly. This writer will openly admit these cowardly actions incense me to no end, and I can’t even fathom the level of disrespect that the sub-humans who perpetrate these crimes against the elderly must possess in their dysfunctional psyche.

In my recent travels, I have noticed a growing number of elderly people in shops where firearms are sold. I have spoken to some of them personally, and over heard their conversations with the retailers as well. Many of them have lived in their neighborhoods for most of their lives, and now sadly those neighborhoods are turning and crime is on the rise creating a fearful living situation. I spoke with a person that works in sales for a major firearms retailer here in Central Florida about this. He has worked in the firearms retail business for a number of years in various areas of the country, and I have found him to be knowledgeable in regards to weaponry. I asked him if he had seen an increase in firearms purchases by the elderly, and he confirmed what I have been observing for a number of months. He stated that purchases by the elderly had increased dramatically, with some of these first time purchasers being close to 80 years old. Their weapon of choice was typically Old Reliable, the 38 revolver. My first question is who is to blame here that our elderly are now being forced to arm themselves for protection? It it Law Enforcement’s fault that the elderly are living in terror? My answer to that would have to be no, because if you go to review how many people are arrested daily in the greater Orlando area, the numbers are astounding. Is it the Judicial system that returns these domestic urban terrorists back to the streets to commit another violent crime against the innocent? To that I would say that they are to blame in part, but the problem is of a much greater magnitude. America used to be a strong nation that would not stand for these actions by criminals against law abiding Americans. Over the last forty years or so, we have now become a nation that is fearful of liability, and so now no one wants to take action or get involved. With all of the movies and music that glorify the gangster lifestyle, is anyone surprised that this is playing out in real life on our streets daily? For those naysayers who would argue that popular culture doesn’t affect a society, let me sing them a few bars of a popular commercial or TV theme song and see if they know the rest of the lyrics. One only needs to study how the popular culture of the Roman Empire led to the demise of one of the strongest ruling nations of all time, and you will see how history is repeating itself in our country right before our eyes, because a nation that allows its children and elderly to be abused or murdered without being outraged and taking aggressive action to curtail it is a nation in apathy on the road to destruction.