When the Second Amendment was written, we didn't have much of an organized military. Ordinary citizens had to arm themselves against any threat to our shores. We now have the most powerful, high-tech, experienced military the world has ever seen.

But recent mass shootings have prompted record sales of firearms, and ordinary citizens are arming themselves as if faced with imminent attack. Who are we arming ourselves against? What enemies would dare challenge the most powerful military and the most well-armed citizenry on earth?

Do we perceive an enemy within our own borders? Do we, as American citizens, fear our own government so much that we would take up arms against it, and those brave citizen soldiers whom we have come to cherish so much? Is the enemy our own neighbor who may have placed in his yard a political sign with which we disagree? Have we been deceived into believing that some of our fellow citizens are the enemy? Who would have us believe this lie and what do they have to gain?

The surest way to conquer an enemy is to divide its populace against itself, to sow hatred and fear within its collective heart. When it is us against them, against that other crowd, against yet another group, we lose sight of our common truth; that we are Americans, made exceptional by the diversity that has made our nation the envy of the world. United we stand, divided we fall.

Randy Stribling

Bellingham