NRA: Watching Something You Loved Burn Down is Painful, but Necessary for Change

​The NRA recently laid of 60 people. The scandals, suits, and controversy—all products of leadership's making—have taken their toll. Then the coronavirus economic collapse happened. Some worry about the NRA collapsing and going into history, then leaving gun owners without representation. 

I don't think we've gotten our money's worth from the NRA. Like a parasite devastating a host, only when the host is no longer benefiting the parasite can the victim be free of the one draining its lifeblood. The death process needs to continue until the parasites are gone and the body can heal.

A lot of people across the gun community have expressed serious angst over watching the NRA slowly collapse of an illness of its own making. They think we should be making heroic efforts to save it. Sometimes you have to totally tear a thing down to rebuilt it. It's a painful process to watch, like cutting out a tumor or tearing the guts out of a neglected old house.

We instinctually recoil when watching our honored institutions burning down. Seeing a behemoth like the NRA self-destruct, even if it or something better may be reborn from the process, it is a time of uncertanity. The fear that all that has been accomplished over the years may disappear is a real one. 

This is where the old balancing act comes. What of the old, rotten, corrupt system is worth keeping? There will always be a need for institutional gun training as the NRA provides. The NRA will probably continue to provide it or serve as the framework for thousands of trainers across the country. And if not, something will take that place. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Legislatively, what good has the NRA really done? The NRA has compromised since 1934. It is arguable whether this was to avoid worse or if they sold us down the river. Because of the money involved, a renewed NRA-ILA could be effective if leadership stops holding them back. Even if the NRA is done for good, groups like the GOA or FPC stand to gain and grow. Grassroots has never been easier before.

And worst-case, if the NRA bites the dust and nothing can replace it, the days of the Republic are numbered. We all see the civil war and tyranny storming on the horizon. We'll have to use the Second Amendment sooner or later. Like the tearing down of a house, it's hard to watch, but there's a very slim chance we can turn America around with our a reset.