The Redhunter

Anyone who's ever heard or seen him interviewed knows he is a man of strong opinions, and is not shy about speaking his mind. He speaks fast and is very articulate. Whether you agree with him on anything or not, you're forced to acknowledge that this is not your ordinary drug-addled rocker. Nugent is a man of energy and it shows.

I've never been much of a concert goer, and have never seen him live. Several years ago I switched over to contemporary Christian music, and so do not listen to the type of stations that play his music. In fact, I don't listen to much if any secular music at all anymore, but with Nugent I'll make an exception. He was one of my favorites from the old days.

I picked up his 2000 book, God, Guns, & Rock 'N Roll, while at my brother's house recently, deciding I needed a less intense book to read and review after all of the heavy political books I've been reviewing. "...less intense book" and I picked up something by Ted Nugent? What was I thinking....

Truth be told, the book is about 2% God, 8% Rock 'n Roll, and 90% Guns. He is a self-described "gun nut" and not in the slightest ashamed of it. In fact, he revels in it. Anyone who doesn't like it can go you-know-where as far as he is concerned.

Ted Nugent is a controversial figure, for his hard-driving intense brand of rock 'roll as much for his politics. On the one hand, he's got enough money not to care whether you like him or not. On the other, he recognizes that there are plenty of people who would take away our Second Amendment and hunting rights if given half a chance, and so he has devoted much of his public life to ensuring that never happens.

Of course the liberals hate him.

He is active in dozens of organizations, some he founded himself, such as the Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids and the Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America, to his member on the Board of Directors of the NRA, to many others as well.

Ted's god is the god of nature; the "Great Spirit", as he describes it. Nature is "God's creation", and it has a beauty nothing we create can match. He says he believes in the Ten Commandments, but never discusses Christianity or any other religion per se. Rather, to him spirituality is to be found in being part of nature. Hunting, fishing, and guns are all part of this. He sees hunting as feeding his family, as providing "life sustaining food" as he continually calls it. After killing an elephant or wild boar in Africa he goes to pains to describe how the local villagers use every part of the animal. To him this is the ultimate nexus between man and nature.

He doesn't just hunt with guns either, but I think actually prefers bow and arrow because he enjoys the challenge of having to get closer to his prey. The hunt to him is a very spiritual affair.

He has hunted with every major American Indian tribe, and I can imagine that Ted visualizes himself as being in their tradition. In another life he would be a great Indian chief, leading his warriors on the hunt. I imagine his people would have been very well fed.

Environmentalists want to preserve nature from man. Nugent, and other conservationists like him, want to preserve nature for man. The conflict between environmentalist, who sees man as essentially evil, and conservationist, who believes we can be enlightened stewards, is more than just hunter vs anti-hunter. It reveals a deep philosophical divide in how one views man and our relationship with nature. While I don't think he mentions the word "environmentalist" once in his book, he makes clear his distain for anti-gun and anti-hunters.

We are stewards of nature, but also a part of it. Hunting, camping, and fishing are not merely activities that we do on the weekend or when we're bored, they're part of our essence, of who we are. Life out of nature is unimaginable to Nugent. Buying one's meat at the grocery is unimaginable for him.

Other than on issues surrounding guns and hunting, Nugent reveals little on how he thinks about the other issues of our time. He has performed in Iraq for the troops in USO-sponsored shows, but of course that was after the book was written. Family means the world to him, and he describes homosexuality as "weird". On the gun issue alone I'm sure he votes Republican, but rather doubt he feels much affinity with social conservatives. And I'm sure he opposes big developers who want to plow under everything to make room for yet another shopping mall. As mentioned earlier, he spends much of his time making sure that there are plenty of animals for us to hunt. You'll find no greater friend of forests, wetlands, clean air and water than Ted Nugent.

I've never been one for hunting, but have done my share of fishing. I'm also above average in gun ownership, and a proud member of the NRA. Ted Nugent has received my vote for a place on the NRA Board of Directors in the past, and can count on it again. And who knows, if his next concert tour takes him near me, I may just go see him.