Going Off Half Cocked

7-30-2022

Going Off Half Cocked

Is it human nature when listening to someone speak to think ahead of what they’re saying? I mean we do it all the time when we hear the first word or phrase and tend to chime in finishing the sentence for them. The danger in that is we most often get it wrong and show that we weren’t listening in the first place.

Back in the olden days we’d call that “Jumping The Gun” like an athlete on the track, READY – SET – and then taking off before the starting pistol has fired and that can get you disqualified. It’s not the way to win a race.

When hunters are out in the woods, field or mountains as they approach their game the first instinct is to pull back the hammer until it clicks. Without hearing that click it’s easy for the gun to go off – BANG scaring off the intended target. That’s called “Going Off Half-Cocked”.

We do that too when we hear or read a report that angers us, but we fail to validate the accuracy of that report and we do something else, we “Fly Off The Handle”. Yep you read that right, it’s we’re the fly and someone is trying to drive us off the handle of that skillet on the stove.

In each case we respond almost without thinking to a word, phrase or mental picture that “Triggers” our emotions. What we must do is to consciously ask ourselves is that really true or simply hearsay?

Maybe we should use these processes when dealing with politicians because we know that most often whenever they open their mouth – they are already disqualified.

It is legendary that our government makes a great many commitments which can never be equally enforced across the board. The Indians learned the hard way that “White man speaks with forked tongue” when they signed a peace treaty that will last as long as the river flows or as high as the mountains.

We got a taste of that all too recently “you can keep your doctor”, “give up your guns and the criminals will give their guns up too”, “2 weeks to stop the spread”, or “you can’t get the virus after you’ve gotten the shot”.

All double speak for “I’m from the government, trust me”!

I think Americans are smarter than that.

The strength of a nation depends upon the strength of its people, not to blindly allow the government free reign in their lives, but to know when the lines of civil rights, public safety and security have been breached, as well as how to stand up to defend them.

We all have an opinion on everything. So if you think you don’t have an opinion wait until you are told to sacrifice your children to the god of public safety.

Will it then hit home for you or will it be too late? –

RTM