I’ve always found Xavier’s blog to be filled with good stuff… one of the better blogs overall out there.

Yesterday he writes about “On Keeping On Keeping On” and I have to agree with him. One reason I became an NRA Certified Instructor was to help people learn about firearms. I changed, I know others can too. It’s difficult to preach change to a large group and expect change to happen, but working one-on-one with folks you can speak directly to their needs, address their concerns. I won’t lie, I don’t bullshit; honesty is the only way to go about things. I’ll do my best to avoid politics, but there’s inheriently a political component to this. Still, by going one-on-one you can gauge the audience and tailor the message best (e.g. you can avoid politics unless asked; if they’re for sport, you can go that route; if they’re for self-defense you can go that route; etc.). If at the end of it all they’re not going to “see it my way” that’s ok… at least if they were willing to engage in the conversation, and that’s something. That they were willing to let a seed be sown, even if it doesn’t sprout today, maybe it will sometime later.

We cannot hold a grudge. We cannot let our anger be our driving force, especially if it closes us off. Not only does that make us look bad, but it won’t help bring new people into the fold. Think about it. If a sheep sees an angry dog bearing big teeth, it doesn’t matter if that angry dog is a wolf or a sheepdog — it’s still a big predator with teeth that the sheep is going to be afraid of and avoid. So you sheepdogs, think about how to win the trust of those sheep. How to better present yourself, how to better and honestly gain their trust and realize that we’re The Good Guys. And perhaps, just perhaps, be able to teach those sheep how to show some teeth as well.