The story of a female grad student who aspires to do refugee work with children in war torn countries, who is a daughter, a girlfriend, a friend, and is also a member of the local militia, might sound strange to most. Once you understand the truth about militias, my life doesn’t seem strange at all.

Militia members are normal everyday people. We are just like you, and some of us may be your neighbors, your friends, and your family. Everyone has heard of violent hate-based groups calling themselves militias. Everyone has also heard of parachute malfunctions, but we still understand that parachutes are a good thing, right? Militias are the parachutes our founding fathers built into the constitution to save us in the event of disaster, government tyranny, or foreign invasion.

How would your family and friends react if you told them you had sought out and joined a militia? If they are like mine, the reactions would range from worry to terror to utter shock, and disbelief. What would you do?  How would you explain that militia members are not who the mainstream media tells us? A dinner party seemed like the most logical solution.  The dinner I threw for my loved ones to meet the members of my militia was a wonderful confirming event. Everyone got along, had many things in common, and, were very like minded. After the party, my friends and family were all amazed at how badly they misjudged these people, simply because of the word militia. Militia dinner parties are now all the rage in my neck of the woods.

There are three main beliefs our country used to hold true that most people seem to have forgotten.

1) That we the people are in control of our government, not the other way around. In actuality, WE are the government.

2) That in the end, you are the only person who is responsible for your security and your life. The evidence of this lies in the common misconception by most that law enforcement’s duty is to “Protect and Serve.” In truth, the right and responsibility of personal protection is solely on you. If you fail, you or your family will pay the price, and if you want to blame someone, the first place you should look is to the mirror.

3) Individuals civic duty does not end with going to the polls in November. Protecting your liberty requires more effort than voting alone.

Militia members are simply people who take personal responsibility for these beliefs.

We have men, women, doctors, teachers, shop keepers, entrepreneurs, nurses, young, old, strong, and injured members, of varying races and religious beliefs. We are all kinds of people, no one is discriminated against. Each person in the group has something valuable to contribute. Some are former military who teach the rest of us self defense skills, some are doctors who teach us about emergency medical care, some are procurement specialists that find gear and resources for the group. Everyone contributes based upon their individual strengths. Right now seven men from our group are in Arizona helping secure the border, and one woman is telling her story in the hopes of changing the way people think about the word militia.

Say one day you decided to write a series of articles to share the truth about militias. When you told people about this, many told you to expect a raid on your house, to expect to be withdrawn from your college, and to expect to be falsely arrested. Would you still write it? Would you be scared? Is this the kind of governmental authority that truly believes in liberty? What would you believe or expect to happen? Perhaps the heart in your chest would make you decide that you had to write it, regardless of the consequences. Perhaps your mind and hopes for our country would insist, because you had to stand for what you believe. We are not here to plan the demise of our government. We are here to ensure that no one plans the demise of our people. None of them.

This article was written because of dedication to my beliefs, my militia, and my country. My expectation is for many people to join us and to stand strong beside us to protect themselves, their families, and our country. We The People are the true government…we always have been. In the future I believe many brave patriots will invite their local militia over for dinner.