I spent a great deal of my aviation career flying overwater routes. When you are out of sight of land, it is vital to be able determine your exact position in latitude and longitude. If you don’t know where you are, you can’t determine how to get to your destination. That’s also true over land masses, but generally there are navigational aids to use for that purpose.
In the earliest days of aviation, these weren’t electronic, but rather a system of flashing red lights called “beacons” spaced along given routes called “airways”. They were quite literally highways in the sky. There were also airport beacons which flashed alternately green and white. One alternating green and white designated a civilian airfield and two quick whites followed by a green meant it was military.
The only problem with this system was that it only worked after dark and in visual conditions. Any restriction to visibility, such as rain, snow or fog greatly degraded the system or rendered it totally useless. Later, ground based electronic guidance became available which could be used even when you were in the clouds, with zero visibility.
That was improved by “Inertial” navigation systems which used gyroscopes and computers which could be programed with route “waypoints” to get you from point A to point B with no ground inputs required. The latest version of this concept uses input from navigation satellites, and is extremely accurate. However, that system still requires inputs from the pilot to reach the destination. Improper inputs can have fatal results.
I liken what is happening politically in our country right now to a series of faulty inputs into our nation’s navigational computer. Quite simply, we have lost “situational awareness” and are headed towards a mountain peak that will kill everyone on board unless we once again figure out where we are, and where we want to go in safety.
Currently, on our trip around the nation’s heartland, we have arrived at 37°15’35”N 107°4’35”W. In layman’s terms that’s Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a small mountain town, population 1571 as of the 2020 census. It is located in a beautiful valley at an altitude of 7500 feet above sea level, and surrounded by very high mountains which are part of the Rocky Mountain chain.
Both my wife and I have Concealed Weapons Permits issued by South Carolina. They are recognized on a reciprocal basis by all but a few states, mostly Democrat controlled. Unfortunately, Colorado isn’t one of them. However, “Open Carry”of firearms is permitted, I believe, everywhere in Colorado, with the exception of the City and County of Denver, a liberal bastion and the state capitol.
That means that we can wear our guns openly in view of everyone, but not concealed by a garment or specialized holster. This is a strange concept if the intent of prohibiting concealed carry is not to have gun-phobic individuals terrified by the mere sight of a firearm. Back to Pagosa Springs. I visited a small local gun store and talked to a gentleman who worked there about the safety of his town.
Surprisingly, he said that like most other places in the nation, his town isn’t as safe as it once was. In fact, he said, he estimated that something north of 85% of the locals had a CWP and carry on a regular basis. That is an astounding figure. If a small town in the mountains of Colorado isn’t considered safe by its residents, how must we view the rest of the country, particularly the larger metropolitan areas?
The answer to that question is obvious. They grow more dangerous by the day. That’s an inconvenient truth that can’t be denied or covered up. Our open borders, particularly our southern border, are allowing people and substances into our country that shouldn’t be allowed in. The Biden Administration has invited people to break our immigration laws with impunity. Why should they stop there? Many of these illegal immigrants come from countries where corruption is the norm, not the exception, and we are allowing them to bring There, Here!
The “Homeless” in many cases choose to be so. Many are addicted to drugs, are mentally ill, and/or are convicted criminals released early from prisons and left unmonitored by leftist authorities. Dystopic movies like “Escape from New York” and “Escape from Los Angeles” are becoming a near reality in 2022. Because of the policies of leftist politicians in states like California, Oregon and Washington, the chaos they have created is spreading like a plague to bordering states like Arizona, Nevada and Idaho. The tent cities are spreading anywhere that local governments will permit them.
While organizations like ANTIFA and BLM are promoting violence and unrest, our DOJ under Merrick Garland is attacking conservative Americans who refuse to accept the results of an obviously flawed 2020 election cycle. Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter are data mining posts from users which contain “questionable” content (and who gets to determine what that is?) and turning them over to the FBI, who then harasses the supposed miscreants. This is not Constitutional or American behavior. November 8th may indeed be the harbinger of the future of our country. If the Biden Regime is allowed to continue unchecked until January 2025 and perhaps beyond, the America I grew up in may be lost forever. That would be a catastrophe of immense proportions. The choice is clear. Live in peace and freedom, or surrender to despotism and fear. What do You want to pass on to future generations? We need a navigational course correction before we hit the mountain we’re approaching, and we need it quick.
