Charlton Heston:
Every time our country stands in the path of danger
An instinct seems to summon her finest first — those who truly understand her
When freedom shivers in the cold shadow of true peril
Its always the patriots who first hear the call
When loss of liberty is looming, as it is now
The siren sounds first in the hearts of freedoms vanguard
The smoke in the air of our Concord Bridges and Pearl Harbors
Is always smelled first by the farmers who come from their simple homes to find the fire and fight
Because they know that sacred stuff resides
In that wooden stock and blued steel
Something that gives the most common man
The most uncommon of freedoms
When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument
That symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty
Thats why those five words issue an irresistible call to us all and we muster
So, as we set out this year, to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away
I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice
To hear, and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Obama,
From my cold, dead hands!