June 14, 2005

2nd Amendment - When do we Defend it?

While going through my daily rounds in the Blogosphere, I found a link at Kim du Toits that discusses something that doesn't get the attention it merits.

I often post my feelings about the Second Amendment and it's purpose as envisioned by the founding fathers,namely that it was intended as a last defense against tyranny from our own government. But I have always left out what just may be the most important part: Just WHEN is it time to invoke that defense and let the bullets start to fly? this essay addresses that issue in the most thoughtful manner I've seen.

We've all seen the bumper stickers that say "They can have my gun when they pry it from my cold dead fingers", and while it evokes a certain sense of bravado and spirit, I don't think that anyone can regard an individual incident in that vein as an effective way of defending the 2nd Amendment; the public merely sees it as "oh, another gun nut/fanatic/insert meme here pulled off an idiotic stunt and got arrested/shot by the police, good for them".

Go get a cup of coffee, get a note pad to make notes and jot down questions, settle in and really READ and absorb the wisdom contained in the words there.

I am not a religious man as Ron S. is, but I do agree with him that the wisdom contained in the Bible dealing with the secular and intrapersonal relationships within a society were one of the twin pillars in the founding of this country. You don't have to suscribe to a particular tenant to see where he's coming from, if you translate the meanings of the religious wisdom into the secular terms of "how do we form a society that truly works to the betterment of all".

I find myself in complete agreement with Ron on his premise/conclusions/strategy. Go there, read it, ponder it, and put your own two cents in. Start to really think about it, and begin planning Your course of action when TSHTF. It will, inevitably, sooner or later, and Ron has a thoughtful
outline of a good course of action. Remember that it is your DUTY as a citizen of a free Republic to become informed, and to defend the freedoms that Republic affords you, for if not you, who? "The tree of Liberty requires refreshment with the blood of patriots" are not idle words, they are a fact borne out time and again in history. As Ron also notes, our forfathers expected tyrany from government:

The founding fathers of our country had no such illusions of trust: they understood the depravity of human nature. They understood that absolute power corrupts absolutely. They understood that government must be restrained with the chains of the Constitution. They did not incorporate the system of checks and balances because they had faith in the government. Having faith in the government is a complete reversal of the founders' original theory of eternal distrust and vigilance.

Why is this discussion so important? I think that Ron said it best:

All this discussion of armed resistance may beg the question: What's the big deal about gun control? Why should we hazard our lives to stop it? And, where is this tyranny? To answer briefly: the Second Amendment is the guarantor of the rest of the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Therefore, an attack on the Second Amendment is an attack on the entire Constitution. Without the Second Amendment, we have no means to physically retain our other rights; they become dusty words on an old piece of paper that can be ignored. If we lose the Second Amendment, we lose all the other rights at the same time.
First, our rights came into existence because of the principles in the Second Amendment--arms and militias. They had no rights, no Constitution, no liberty, and would never have had any without the Second Amendment.
This point can be easily demonstrated by examining the justifications given for the American revolution in 1776 in the Declaration of Independence: "In every stage of these Suppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury." The colonists exhausted every available means of appeal over a long period of time, but the oppressive conditions only worsened, and they had no peaceful means left to use. The only recourse is elegantly stated by Patrick Henry: "An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!". All our rights were literally born from the Second Amendment, and, I might add, God is equally a part of Patrick Henry's equation.

Where will you stand when the bullets start to fly? You'd be wise to ponder the question before the need to make a decision arises. If your on the side of patriots, you need to become prepared, if not, prepare for living as a subject, not a citizen.







Posted by Delftsman3 at June 14, 2005 03:15 PM
Comments

Super post, all one has to do is look at those countries where the citizens lost their means to defend themselves.

Posted by: Jack at June 14, 2005 04:06 PM

It is interesting that if you study the history of the Constitution and particularly the Bill of Rights, the founders were particularly afraid of future tyranny. The First Amandment laid out the means to raise protest against a tyrannical government -- freedom of speech, press, religion, etc. The Second Amendment provided a means to protect and guarantee those rights.

Posted by: hoosierboy at June 14, 2005 05:42 PM

An interesting (to me) modern twist in this question is that arms bearing today is necessary to resist the CONSEQUENCES of state stupidity and interference rather than the state itself.

The case could easily be made that the depradations of the civil criminal class and its shear size are made possible by the institutionalization of so many malignant leftist ideas, both here and abroad.

Theo Van Gogh, for instance, would probably be alive if he had been armed, not to mention the multiple questions surrounding the state-protected ideas and origin of his attacker.

The permanent underclass in America consists of the social discards along the miserable and calamitous road from the Great Society to today. They are there because of the corrosive ignorance of liberals and the insidious effect of state interference in their lives.

Unfortunately, we need guns to protect ourselves from them and their undirected progeny. Leftists have really succeeded in creating victims everywhere, but not in they way they think.

Posted by: Rhod at June 15, 2005 12:22 PM

As I may be the Ron S. in question. I didn't write the When to start shooting article. I did find it and post about it on my blog, after which I e-mailed Kim du Toit and asked his opinion.

It's still a damn good question, and a mildly on going discussion on my blog.

Posted by: Warthog at June 17, 2005 03:17 AM
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