That's right Uncle Ted. Now, some of you may roll your eyes, but I dare you to read his book and try to not form your own opinion on the topics he discusses. If you get past all of the loud, obnoxious behavior Ted puts on when he's on TV he actually makes some good points. Now I don't expect you to agree with everything he says, heck I don't, but he does open a dialogue. And I really believe that's what he tries to do. He makes bold statements that are sure to get a reaction. I think he does this so, even if you do get outraged, you begin to inspect why you believe what you believe (hopefully).
This book was more about guns, more so than God and rock 'n' roll. Ted does talk a little about his rock 'n' roll career, but it's mostly about how he didn't indulge in the normal decadence and drug use. The main body of the book is about Ted's thoughts on gun control and how beneficial hunting can be. Ted believes that gun control should be something that is brought to the forefront and addressed not swept under the rug and ignored. He admits to the allure of guns to young people. And he's right. I remember being young and being amazed by my dad's hunting guns. Ted makes the point to get kids involved with guns as early as possible. This, in my opinion, is a really great idea on many fronts. First and foremost, no one is going to just send their young child in the backyard unattended with a gun. So this forces a lot of parent-child interactions (big plus for society these days). Secondly by putting a gun in the child's hands and letting them shoot it takes a lot of the mystique and wonder away and makes them a little less fascinating. With teaching your child proper gun handling technique, and not being lax about it, you teach them discipline. With every shot, and every bulls eye there is a tremendous sense of achievement and this increases self esteem. Begin them as young as you can with a Red Ryder BB gun. Then step them up to a .22 caliber rifle. And when they become old enough you can buy them a larger game hunting rifle. When in their teens let them shoot your hand guns if you own them, but be sure you instill in them from the very first day of shooting that they do not do any of this with out your assistance. But with that stipulation be sure that you take the time to shoot with your kids when they want to. Ted also has the idea of the "white room." This is the idea of having the kids taught a gun education course. At the conclusion of the classroom portion of the class the kids are taken into an all white room. The kids along with the instructor are wearing all white painter's overalls. On a table ten yards away there are four gallon jugs filled with red liquid. The instructor proceeds to take a high power hand gun, while everyone wears eye and ear protection. The red liquid would cover the room and partially the students. The point of this exercise is to scare the kids, to an extent, and drive home the idea that guns do have very serious consequences. Along with the idea of shooting sports Ted also suggests getting your kid into archery. There are many bows on the market for kids that are hugely adjustable in both draw length and draw weight. Archery is a great idea because it teaches even more discipline. It requires such discipline in form for the arrow to fly right and this is a great teachable moment for the kids about life. Archery also offers instant gratification and feedback.
Ted also talks a lot about hunting. He talks about how spiritual hunting is for him. And anyone who has spent time in the woods and harvested any of nature's wonderful offerings understands this. He talks about how this is also another opportunity for parent-child interaction. These days every person is required to take a hunter safety course, and Ted makes the statement that "you won't find a hunter's education card in the pocket of any gang member." And you know what I bet he's right. I don't really think this has a lot to do with the hunter's ed course, but more to do with the parental relationship the kids have. If you're more involved in your kids life you have more of a chance to make a difference for the better. Hunting can have a huge impact on kids though along with the parental interactions. It does depend on the attitude of the parent about the hunt, but it's a great opportunity with another teachable moment. You can take this chance to teach them reverence for the harvest. There are tons of great protein opportunities in nature as I like to call them. Everything from small game like squirrel and birds, to larger game like deer and hogs. Nature offers a bountiful harvest of "perfect protein." Ted honestly believes in this "perfect protein", as he calls it, so much so that he and his family haven't eaten store bought meat since 1969. That's right it will be 51 years this year since the Nugents bought meat. WOW!!! Wild game is low fat, low cholesterol, high protein fair that is, as Ted puts is, "rocket fuel for my spiritual campfire." Native peoples, like Inuits or Native Americans, who share this type of diet some far fewer examples of heart disease, diabetes, and hardening to the arteries. Many of these problems are magnified by the poor diet we indulge in these days. Hunting is a return to our hunter-gatherer days and a healthier life style. It offers us not only a healthier diet, but a more active and in turn healthier life.
Now some of you may say that all of this will just increase gun use and violence in America. But I would be willing to bet you that most of the gun crimes were not committed by people who had proper gun handling and discipline training. Some may say that we need tougher gun laws, we need to make it harder to get and carry a gun. Well that's just dumb. The people who are committing the crimes with guns now aren't following the rules, why would they all of a sudden change that. If you enact tougher laws then you're just punishing the people who are following the rules. The key would be to enforce the rules you already have in place. And besides, the more people who are armed the more a criminal will think twice about doing something illegal. If criminals think there is a chance they might get resistance then they rethink what they're doing. So do yourself a favor, if you already haven't, take a hunter's ed course and get a gun. Whether it's a hand gun or a .22. Then get out to the gun range and become proficient with it. And remember always follow proper gun etiquette and safety. Learn to handle a gun and this will teach you discipline and self esteem. Learn to hunt (haha, like it's that easy) and it'll teach you how to be closer to being self sufficient. This get's you into the mindset of an apex predator and unleashes the spirit of the wild inside of all of us. Whether you like to admit it or not it's there, and begging to be let out. To quote Uncle Ted, "Your life begins at point A and ends at Point B. Kick maximum ass!!!"
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