THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
Thomas Jefferson was once quoted as saying that the two greatest enemies of the American people were criminals and government. He believed that a “wise” government was one that let its citizens be free to live without too much control or too many regulations. He also wanted people to have the right to protect themselves, not just against another individual who assaulted them but also against a tyrannical government that had become too powerful.
Jefferson had lived through the period leading up to the American Revolution and had firsthand experience of what life was like when government has too much authority. I believe it’s important now for Americans to remember WHY our Forefathers fought against British rule. Most of us today would probably just answer that the American Colonists wanted “independence” or that they wanted a more democratic nation. But that is a very simplified answer to a very complicated situation that the Colonists were dealing with at the time. In reality, they were being ruled by a very oppressive government. Not only were they being forced to pay Britain’s HIGH taxes and tariffs for simple goods such as paper, sugar and tea, they were also being told by Britain that they could not buy goods from any other country. Colonists were also subject to a government who permitted their officers, many of whom were corrupt and abusive, to search anyone’s home without warning and to confiscate whatever personal possessions they deemed necessary. That same government also had the power to declare anyone guilty and imprison them without a trial by judge or jury.
Jefferson also lived through the Boston Massacre of 1770 where British troops fired upon a crowd of Colonists who were protesting against government oppression, killing five citizens immediately and wounding six others. Although there were many more events and many more reasons why the Colonists wanted their independence, what is important for us to remember is that they were fighting a government that had too much authority and too much power. Our ancestors no longer trusted their government to protect them and to do the right thing. They wanted to put the power BACK in the hands of the individual.
Our Forefathers not only believed in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, they also believed in the Right to Bear Arms. It was actually Jefferson who said that if you disarm the people, you actually “encourage” the criminal (i.e. an individual and/or the government) to be even more aggressive and to take more advantage of you because you will not be able to fight back. Some went as far as to say you are “enslaving” an individual when you take away their weapon. Others, like Patrick Henry, went a step further than that and wanted EVERYONE to be armed with guns and trained in how to properly use them. This may seem like an outrageous thought to those who hate what guns stand for and are horrified by the damage they can do. But when you take guns away from the people or “control” gun ownership too much, you are essentially giving MORE power to the government and saying that you trust the government to protect you more than you trust your neighbors.
Like most countries in the world, America has been politically divided for decades, if not centuries. There are MANY issues that we do not all agree upon… yet I am fairly certain that almost all of us today are frustrated with our current government and recognize corruption and abuse of power of some kind at some level. As a result, can you honestly say that you completely trust your government to always do the right thing and to protect YOU in the event of an emergency? Or even if you believe they will make every attempt to try and save you, which would result in a faster response if you are being assaulted: a call to 911 or running next door to your neighbor for help?
As much as I hate War and believe that every diplomatic attempt to avoid it should first be EXHAUSTED, I feel even more strongly that the majority of people would never take someone else’s life except in self-defense. It is only a small percentage of society that lack a moral conscience, and I am part of the camp that believes these people are so sick that they will find a way to harm others regardless of how much you control gun access. They will build a bomb instead or use poisonous chemicals. Or they will slay people with knives, which happened in China on the same day as the Sandy Hook massacre. Most of the world did not hear about this tragedy, but 22 children in a primary school in the Henan province were stabbed by a mentally deranged man … and although none died, many were seriously injured and most were likely TRAUMATIZED for life.
Instead of concentrating so much on the issue of gun control, I wish we would focus on our COMMON ground. We all agree that every mass shooting has been a tragedy and that a lot of innocent people have suffered as a result. We all want to protect society from such a senseless death in the future … and I hope we all agree that only a severely mentally ill person would commit such a crime. So instead of debating gun control, I wish we could spend our time and money trying to IDENTIFY those members of society who are the real threat. It’s not the guns themselves we should be attacking. We need to go to the root of the problem (not the weapon itself) and start educating ourselves more on how to identify mental illness. I have written about this before (with articles regarding the personality characteristics of stalkers and psychopaths), and I believe that many of us know we have mentally ill colleagues, friends and family members. But how many of us actually have the COURAGE to turn them in?
Copyright © 2013 (Michelle Parsons, Getting Back on Your Path). All Rights Reserved.
