“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”
It’s one of the most-used phrases to describe our system of government, and I imagine it could be the most recognized statement of political theory in the world.
We all know the story of our founding; that simple men with muskets turned back the most professional army on the planet. After the war those men wrote the document that would govern our lives now that we lacked a King to instruct us. The Second Amendment didn’t as much enshrine the right to own guns as much as it did the duty to continue to protect our hard won liberty.
After the horrific events in Connecticut last Friday, a concerted effort is being mounted to undermine what is left of the statement of truths that Thomas Jefferson articulated.
The argument is being made that in order to keep bad things from happening we must strip good people of the tools to prevent them. Criminals will continue to carry guns and use them against us, and if we can’t stop drugs and people from getting into the country… it is ridiculous to believe we can stop guns. The only people who will obey the law are those who are not a threat to begin with.
The stories of the bravery of the teachers who shielded their students, who hid them in closets or attempted to take down the shooter themselves are as tragic as they are moving. Now imagine if one of these teachers also carried a weapon.
NO! NO NO NO NOOOOO!!!!!!!!
The Statist Left is out in full force to argue against the idea that more guns at the scene of the crime would have resulted in a better outcome.
“Teachers aren’t the Police or Soldiers.”
“They wouldn’t know what to do.”
“It would make the situation worse.”
“That’s not their job.”
“More guns are not the answer.”
If more guns are not the answer, then why didn’t the shooting get worse when the police arrived? They brought their guns with them.
They are right that these teachers were not trained in handling weapons, but neither were they trained to save children from a crazed gunman. However, when they faced that challenge, they responded quickly, bravely and as unselfishly as any soldier or policeman would have.
This statement is not an argument about the details of gun reform or proper security at schools. This is about the underlying question of whether or not each citizen is responsible for his or her own life. I believe that defending my life and those around me is my duty as a citizen of this great country, but there are a great many who disagree. Why do you need to defend yourself when we have the government? The government feeds us when we are hungry, it clothes us when we are naked, it pays us when we don’t have a job, it educates and heals us and when need be, it protects us….
But what happens when the government isn’t there when we need protecting? The same thing that happens to the sheep when the wolf arrives and the shepherd is away.
Owning a gun is about taking responsibility for your own life, it is acknowledging that you will fight for your life and the lives of others, to the death if need be. There is no act that promotes individuality as much as carrying a weapon for self protection.
This is what the Statist Left is fighting against: the idea of a person free from the need of the government. A free person proves how ineffective the government truly is when you really really need it. It doesn’t matter if it is a hurricane, the economy, the roads, the Post Office or school security, the government does it poorly. Those teachers and children put their trust in the government. They believed that laws, regulations and the police would be there to save them when they needed saving. Instead, the police arrived in time for the TV Cameras when what the victims in the school really needed was ability to meet brute force with brute force.
A nation of people that does not even have the force of will to take responsibility for saving their own lives does not stand a chance of surviving.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote those words that would change the world, the King of England was doing everything in his power to suppress those thoughts. As Congress reviewed the text of the Declaration of Independence, the Royal Navy delivered His Majesty’s soldiers to the shores of Staten Island. They soon took Long Island, followed by Manhattan. As the beaten and weary soldiers of what was left of the Colonial Army fled the battlefields of New York, they carried their guns with them. As long as they carried their weapons, they carried the hope of defending their rights and lives. In those same states through which George Washington led the army of concerned citizens clinging to their guns, now come the loudest cries for outlawing self defense.
Socialized Health Care leads to the degradation of the quality of our health care, Socialized Education leads to the collapse of learning, Socialized Safety leads to the death of those who are least capable of defending themselves. Free men carry guns because they wish to remain free, because their life is important to them and because they will not abdicate their duty to defend their Life, Liberty or Pursuit of Happiness.
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