When discussing the Bill of Rights,
particularly the Second Amendment which more people are giving in to
the propaganda that unarmed citizens makes a safer nation, it seems
that was a popular idea in Nazi controlled German in the 1930s, which
the surrounding nations who were impressed with Germany's speedy
recover from inflation and economical failure [they did not realize
they had already implemented slave labor and began persecuting and
ripping off Jewish families] – so they also disarmed their
populace. Well, history tells the rest of the story. The only people
with weapons were “officials” of the government, the army, and
local law enforcement controlled by the Nazi political machine.
Their main focus was liberty, based
upon their experience as colonists in North America who had been
loyal to the motherland of England. English laws had been adopted
with some changes made to tailor to the conditions in the New World,
and later to match constitutional law.
It was Thomas Jefferson who
write the eloquent and timeless words of freedom in the Declaration
of Independence and its opening paragraph …
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The
most appealing form of government came in two forms: democracy and
the republic. The wise and learned Founders concluded that democracy
ended up killing itself, becoming first a rule of the mob and then to
oligarchy
and finally, after a possible brief time of anarchy, become a
totalitarian
state.
A republic was found to be better suited in protecting liberty and
the people's government by a foundation of the rule of law, which is
the Constitution of the United States, which would be a government by
the People
and for the
People,
providing a limited
central government that
was the national government in concert with the individual state
governments that form a union, thus our country's name became the
United States [of America]. The new government was formed to include
three branches, [executive, legislative, and judiciary] each with its
own responsibilities and each with its own limitations; intended to
provide a check-and-balance system to ensure that none of the three
branches would become too powerful. Today, the executive branch has
evolved into a powerful branch, and depending upon who is President
of the United States, can hold sway over Congress [legislative] as
well as judiciary [Federal and US Supreme Court] – and, at the same
time, dissolving the sovereignty of any of the states' governments.
All of this was intended to be clearly prescribed in the Constitution
of the United States. The Founders had a unification law during the
American War of
Independence,
the Articles of
Confederation,
designed to be temporary until independence could be secured and then
proceed to create a constitution that all state government and
representatives could agree upon. It took eight years to complete the
constitution in order to get it ratified by the states and the body
designated to create it, 56 men, could complete a final draft and the
ultimate result. They certainly were aware of how important it was to
establish not only rule of law, but law that would prevent government
from going beyond its limitations. They also realized that the
Constitution only provided limitations upon government, but did not
guarantee the liberties that the previous government had not allowed
them to have. Thus, they created ten amendments which came to be
known as the Bill of Rights. The People, however, were responsible to
ensure that those they elected
I
am sure that the Founders would first be overcome with disbelief and
then weep as to what has happened to the rule of law that they so
laboriously created and warned that if citizens would not safeguard
it and retain knowledge of it, that it would be lost. As Ronald
Reagan
stated:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. … Man is not free unless government is limited. … Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. … Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.
Reagan addressed one of the serious problems with modern government
that has turned away from that which the Founders created:
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Today,
there is a heated debate over the illegal immigrant problem, but as
Reagan stated:
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
And
the truth is about big government:
No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!
Big
Government
advocates, especially zealous are those who would reap the benefits,
tell the people how much better their lives will be and how much the
government does for them, they just have to incrementally give up
liberties and rights established by the Founders.
While BH Obama has driven the United States further into
bankruptcy than any other president – he did not invent Big
Government in the United States – he just sanctions and
promotes it. He is merely continuing what George W. Bush did,
despite the promise of “Hope and Change” - and increased problems
at least double-fold, especially the economy. He has more scandals
ongoing than Bill Clinton did during his two-term tenure.
Paul Light at The Washington Post, a leading progressive concerning
government bureaucracy admitted that the federal government had
failed to prevent tainted meat, poisoned peppers, aircraft
groundings, the Columbia shuttle accident, Hurricane Katrina,
counterfeit Heparin, toxic toys [from China], the
banking collapse [which led to corporate welfare by the name
of “bailout”], Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab [underwear
bomber] on the no-fly list allowed to board an
aircraft, Bernie Madoff or even September 11 – can no longer
guarantee the faithful execution of our laws. He also failed
to mention that the federal “big” government does not enforce its
immigration laws so we have well over 11 million uninvited
lawbreakers working, living, and sending their children to US schools
– many on at least one welfare program. The government failed to
carefully consider and reach scientific conclusion when it came to
TARP, and
Neil Barofsky
wrote that the $45 billion bailout of Citigroup was a consensus
that appeared to be based as much on gut instinct and fear of the
unknown as an objective criteria.
All that and those in the
federal government and some state governments are attempting to do
away with the Second Amendment. The People already lost most of their
property rights, and in some respects freedom of speech; and the
media has forgotten what their duty is: the eyes and ears of the
People, not a mouthpiece for big government progressives or RINOs
pretending to be “conservative”. Neither of these two groups are
constitutionalists. That is why the Tea Party Movement began –
to bring back the dynamics of freedom, liberty, and the roots of
tradition established in 1776 and in the eight years it took to
complete the Constitution of the United States. Christians are
persecuted and told they cannot publicly display their icons and the
fundamental laws of the Judeo-Christian faith in the form of Moses'
Ten Commandments; as well as allowing students to even pray silently
to themselves in schools because it might “offend” someone –
totally disregarding that they are offending the religion that
represents most of the country.
You might be asking by now: What does this have to do with firearms?
It is a look outside the box and the big picture – loosing rights
in increments can occur if those intending to erase them are patient
enough, and at a certain point when they feel confident they have
enough sheeple to back them up - demand it for the “good”
of the People. The sheep herder is no longer in charge because the
wolf took the sheep herder's place and people STILL cannot see it.
While Ronald Reagan may have been accused [and those who think
like he did] of being anti-government, he did not despise government,
but looked at it as necessary, but must be restrained by the US
Constitution and the electorate. He rightly stated that government
IS the problem, but he also stated that it shows signs
of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. The Tenth
Amendment empowers state governments, not Washington, DC. As Reagan
stated:
It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work – work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Americans are citizens, not subjects.
If
Americans truly want their liberties returned in full, as the
Founders designed and intended as a Republic, they MUST educate
themselves because the federal government controls the educational
system, which is another point against the Tenth Amendment. The
People:
- must stop trading their liberty for false security.
- must take a good look at what the proper role of government is.
- Must stop thinking the role of the government is to be involved in all aspects of their lives.
- must understand that as government expands, liberty contracts.
- Must realize and apply that government is best which governs the least.
Now that overview has been covered, I will continue to discuss the
Second Amendment and how the Founders decided to word it, which most
of the Constitution is in clear language, not like today's
legislation filled with gobbly gook, referring to this
paragraph and that paragraph and other lawyer-leese language.
Hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages are in a bill when it could
be condensed to say what it is meant to do. This would also encourage
legislators to read it in its entirety and with more care –
ensuring that someone else hasn't slipped in some pork or benefit for
their state that did not belong there or add some frivolous wasteful
spending amendment. The Founders DID NOT intend for bills to be
passed and then see
what's in it. [I would be embarrassed if I lived in Nancy
Pelosi's district in California and mortified if I had voted
for her again and again]. She, John
McCain, Senator Harry
Reid, and Senator Dianne
Feinstein are examples of what is wrong with our government.
Amendment II, Constitution of
the United States:
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the Security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Thomas
Jefferson and other Founders used Switzerland as an example of what
the citizen militia can do in the defense of its nation against
foreign and/or domestic enemies. The key figures in the founding and
attending the Constitutional
Convention
were John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin,
Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay,
Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison,
and George
Washington.
They never intended for our government to be a democracy in the true
sense of the word, but a republic that adhered to constitutional law.
The Founders realized, especially during the problems with the
Barbary
States, that a US Navy and its complement of US Marines were
important in protecting not only the shores of the United States but
its interests in maritime trade; but a large standing army was
frowned upon – mostly from their experience with British troops
sent by King
George, first to “protect” the colonists, and then to quell
the “rebellion”.
James
Madison
stated:
In the time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.
Over
the centuries, Switzerland, who adopted just such an attitude and
thus the citizen militia concept while still maintaining a small
“standing” army for security and keeping leadership and other
training ongoing, worked well on into the 20th
and 21st
century. In comparing the homicide rates internationally, Switzerland
has a very
low homicide rate, yet one of the highest
levels of gun ownership in the world. In 2009
there was 51 homicides, and the number
of attempted homicides [ones that failed] with the following
statistics:
1998 – 53 homicides with
firearms
2007 – 27 homicides with
firearms
2008 – 20 homicides with
firearms
2009 – 24 homicides with
firearms [attempted homicide with firearms was 31]
Bicycling to Local Firing Range |
Switzerland laws concerning armed
lawful citizens with a conscript, stand-by militia, as a guide, our
government should be also following what the Founders intended and
what the Swiss have successfully accomplished. For one basic
difference is the attitude toward firearms. As shown in the picture
at the left, it is not uncommon to see bicyclists toting firearms on
their way to a firing range for practice or competition – even on
public buses and trains. As Daniel Zimmerman wrote in an
article entitled Gun
Watch:
Thus, as the Founders used the
... a armed society is a more polite and peaceful society.
[Also: Bad
Guys Get Guns Edition]
It is indeed horrifying to anyone when they read about things
happening like at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater and the Sandy
Hook School tragedy – but this is minute. The same government who
sanctioned the murder of 80
people in Waco, Texas, of which one third were children under 18,
is not mentioned. Twenty four of those Branch
Davidian fatalities were British citizens. The media failed
to mention that there were several people of minority groups,
including “Black” Americans. Nor the shootout at Ruby
Ridge where two unarmed persons were killed, one of them a young
teenager. All because an overbearing big brother government pushed
people too far. True that the Ruby Ridge folks were associated with
local “white supremacists”, but it was all about a sawed-off
shotgun, and constituted an entrapment by federal authorities later
revealed. But what really disturbed the federal authorities, in this
case the ATF, was two
letters with threats of war in it. Randy
Weaver, who lost his family in the raid was a former member
of the Green Berets and so a military operation was in order to reach
him in the secluded property. If the feds had not launched the
military attack, and instead sent a plainclothes agent to the cabin
accompanied by the local sheriff, it is thought that Randy would have
accompanied them back to jail to get his day in court. Instead, the
Weavers felt that the enemy big government was commencing a sneak
attack, announced by their barking dogs. One of the dogs were shot,
one of the boys shot at some bushes where agents were concealed after
they shot his dog, and he was shot and killed. Then US Marshal
William Degun was killed, after the other youth say Sammy
Weaver fall, shooting back. It was all over when Randy's wife died
from a sniper shot as she held a baby in her arms. In court, Randy
stated:
They drew first blood, not me!
They drew first blood!
These
incidents promote a bad light on both sides of the fence – between
big government and citizens who decide to make a stand.
Since
Homeland Security was established by the Bush administration, big
government has increased its strangle hold upon lawful citizens.
With
all of the scandals that surfaced during the Obama administration,
like government sanctioned gun-running that led to the death of a
Border Patrol officer and hundreds of Mexican citizens across the
border, the IRS acting like an American Gestapo, the NSA spying on
citizens without warrant, and drones authorized to be used in the
United States; who would not be fearful of the federal government?
We
need to adopt the system and attitude that the Swiss have. We need to
stop sending our men and women to fight another nation's wars. We
need to have an army just big enough to make a stand and a quick
reactionary force available to defend our embassies and its
personnel. We need a strong navy and air force with high-tech
equipment and continue to train all military personnel to keep them
as effective as ever. Whether the American people would stand for
conscription to serve in a training session and be sent home with
their equipment, we need to ensure our government is reformed in many
other ways, as well as reform ourselves, as a society. We already
know from statistics that places where citizens can protect
themselves has a fewer crime rate, so why don't we lower it even more
by adopting the Swiss system? At least the gist of it.
Will
there still be homicides, you bet. But I believe there will be fewer
homicides than attempted ones if people are trained and armed to be
the militia that the Second Amendment calls for.
I
am an advocate that all lawful citizens can, if they wish to do so,
be armed with a concealed weapon. If they have not served in the
military, however, they must be trained on safety issues and how to
use a weapon in different situations, concealed or not.
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