Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Ah, ’tis Patriots’ Day. Note that is Patriots with an ’s’, not to be confused with the faux holiday, Patriot Day.  Succinctly, the day marks the beginning of the American Revolutionary War where ‘beginning’ is determined by when the first shots officially flew. The day is always met in two ways with me – first, rumination and reflection of the events and people involved and secondly, a trip to the range.

How important a holiday is it? Well for almost 20 years now April 19th is a red letter day at Federal law enforcement levels…heightened awareness is the rule of the day since those of us that mark the holiday get labeled with some unflattering descriptions like ‘possible threat’, ‘domestic terrorist’ and my personal favorite ‘anti-government extremist’.

Come to think of it, this nation was founded by ‘anti-government extremists’ and ‘possible threats’. And, according to Joe Biden, this nation was founded by unpatriotic types….because, as Biden says, “paying taxes is patriotic”.

Its a glorious holiday with somber notes as well as celebratory ones.  Like any war remembrance its easy to overlook the loss and suffering that occurred. Some fella kissed his wife goodbye, risked losing his farm and his family as well as his own life, and marched with lousy equipment for minimal pay because of his ideals. Everyone talks about ‘taking a stand’ and ‘opposing tyranny’ but it seems no one ever does…at least, not in that sense. As an interesting exercise, think about what it would take for you to quit your job, walk away from your home, push your family away, and join an insurgent group that has no guarantee of winning and a high probability of putting your neck in a noose.  Interesting stuff.

Anyway, I’ll be at the range today with some form of ‘assault rifle’ practicing and shooting. I recommend, as I do every year at this time, that you do the same.