I was a city boy in New York when I was drafted into the Army in 1952. All I knew was stickball, ringalevio, stoopball and kick-the-can-and-run-the-bases. So where does the Army decide to send me for basic training ? To the 101st Airborne in Breckenridge, Ky.

I had never seen a snake before, except at the Bronx Zoo. Now I’m living in foxholes with all four poisonous snakes indigenous to the United States. Scared to death the whole time, I learned to fire the M-1 rifle and .50-caliber water-cooled machine guns and to throw hand grenades without blowing my own head off. I did refuse the offer to step out of a moving airplane.

Fast forward to 2012: Lawlessness reigns, the Constitution is being trashed by our own lawmakers and judges on a daily basis, public schools teach little or no American history, religion is a dirty word, our college graduates can’t spell without spell check, and they can’t add two two-digit numbers without a calculator.

We’re out of money. We’re not producing anymore. There are more people taking than giving. Rioting in the streets? Like in Greece? Spain? The Middle East? We’ve had two violent upheavals to create and keep our freedom. And I see No. 3 heading our way. There’s nowhere else to run.

I intend to stand and fight. I’m glad I’m trained, and I’m glad I moved to South Carolina. In New York, you go to jail if you try to defend yourself.

Norman Shapp

Bluffton