A YouTube search of "God and guns" brings up at least three different songs by that name--by Lynard Skynard, Hank Williams, Jr,, and Aaron Lewis. (I will leave it to the reader whether/which to listen to.) Indeed, in cold terms, these factors are the biggest non-financial contributors to our specifically American culture and heritage. For those rejecting the Obama direction, to "cling" to them is perfectly logical. This article will focus on the latter of them.
The thumbnail from the Hank Jr. song post, included here for obvious reasons.
Without belaboring the history of the gun culture in America, the obvious truth is that having higher-end arms in Militia terms--e.g., ARs, of course--has become a source of pride, strength, and even refuge. And getting straight to the point, part of my effort with TDF has been to get such 2A practitioners to focus their clinging on the lower-end arms--manual-action, featureless semi-auto, limited magazine capacities (one good point about revolvers is that they don't face that issue--yet), and the like. The baseline Common Law Blackstone self/home defense work (defined and discussed in TDF 49) can be reasonably done with them (TDF 36, but note the caveat), and they still have some effectiveness in more large-scale defense (TDF 2 and especially TDF 80). And most importantly in the topic at hand: THEY ARE FIREARMS.
A part of psychological preparation involves gaining greater academic understanding the whole matter of civics and heritage. I have often talked of hickish "Teabrainers," who are as well meaning as any Patriot, but simply lack the "sophistication" (it's the correct word, but leaves a bad impression with some) to put downturns and disappointments into perspective. Without dropping in a lesson in political science, constitutional law and history, or Second Amendment jurisprudence, I will point you to TDF 82 for concept, TDF 49 for substance (Blackstone), and TDF 28 for some fuddity fun; and then simply say that there is more to our Anglo-American Right to Arms than a 27-word bullet point in the Bill of Rights--a fact pointed to in the amendment itself (TDF 21).
I have written about the connection between our heritage and our arms (TDF 50 compilation). The revolver especially hold such a role (TDF 27), as does to a degree the .45 caliber (Long Colt or ACP) (TDF 55; see also TDF 7). It's truly baseline of baseline in fuddity, but even in a single-action form the revolver retains a general effectiveness (TDF 31).
Thus, to psychologically transfer one's "clinging" from their large-frame 9mm with hicaps or their banned-in-New York AR with all the evil features to something more akin to John Wayne's iconic Single Action Army (which he carried in movies set long before the 1870s, no matter the anachronism) is hardly a renunciation of actual firepower. It's a reduction, to be sure, but a reduction to a more secure specific arm. And psychologically speaking, the more secure the cling object, the better.
A side anecdote in this vein: A coworker of mine told me a .357 Magnum he keeps secured, that he calls, "Big Sexy." (Yes, I know, and I don't want to know any more about it.) If there was one firearm he would cling to, I have no doubt it would be that.
On the higher end, this psychological preparation will indeed impact on the tactical. Downshifting to a bolt-action rifle does indeed reduce effectiveness in a Militia situation, and even large-scale defense. One needs to prepare, practice, and plan accordingly.
But here is where at the same time the tactical and psychological can be parted to a degree. One can shift the clinging to the lower-end while retaining the higher-end stuff for as long as is feasible. One can hold their Enfield or Saiga as their core arms for 2A Militia (as opposed to mere Blackstone defense) while planning day to day to grab their AR with 30-round magazines if the civil war breaks open. The point of psychological preparation is that when the AR and the hicaps are confiscated--or you opt to pay the $200 per to keep them--and you have to stand in line to turn in your newly-banned firepower, you don't "feel" the same sting and demoralization of disarmament, as your core weapon remains as, presumably, 2A-protected. (Until the packed SCOTUS may choose to say otherwise, of course. See TDF 20 and TDF 28 for some painful, shock-awake ideas on politically mitigating that.) It might even be better suited for your condition (see TDF 2 on the Enfield and TDF 19 on the Saiga).
Many if not most people reading this will think this irrelevant, or even silly. They will say they aren't like that, be it "clinging" or subject to demoralization. (Many on the latter point talk of "non-compliance" [TDF 95].) If they are thus, then that is them. The reality is, psychological warfare is quite effective, and disarmament can be received as a form of emasculation--especially when the target finds himself crying in the surrender line. Add in feelings of betrayal toward one's people or country, and a simple AW ban can be a true force multiplier for the anti-Patriot Globalist/Left.
Preparation of this sort is far from silly. Indeed, it is a reasonable cost to be paid for our people's failing to stand against the Election Steal. Our people chose the comfort and ease of avoiding Federalist 46 over following the vision of the Founders (and completely legally)--though I myself did the opposite. Now they must pay the piper in all three of the focii of TDF: Political mitigation, tactical planning, and psychological conditioning.
