Guns and Liberty

Many philosophers (such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke) shared the view that ownership of firearms, by a people who are ready and willing to use them, is vital to resisting tyranny. These philosophers held that disarmament will bring enslavement to tyranny.

The Second Amendment was birthed from that political philosophy, as well as the years leading up to, and including the Revolutionary War, where this "theory" was confirmed as truth in the laboratory of practical experience.

People generally considered in the "conservative cultural elite" embrace us gun owners, but do not embrace our cause, the cause of protecting our 2nd Amendment freedoms.

Why? Why do they pander to our votes and anticipate our support when they, along with the liberal cultural elite, by their actions cast us off as a bunch of uneducated redneck hicks who are an annoyance and an embarassment to this country in this age of civilization. Take, for example, Columnist George Will, who is quite vocal in his dislike of the 2nd, and preference to see it repealed.

We have done a good job of using titles as a catch-all, making "liberals" the evil ones, and "conservatives" the guardian of everything good. But the simple truth is that we have basic freedoms, given to us by men and women who gave their lives and possessions and blood to create a government that believed in these freedoms.

And now we have "conservatives" and "liberals" who don't believe in these freedoms at all. The ACLU, for example, shuns the 2nd, 9th, and 10th amendments, but they form our precious Bill of Rights. Conservative groups love to blow the shofar and rally the troops around fun topics like taxes or flag-burning.

Both groups seem to show disdain for the rights of gun owners. It is time that we, as gun owners and defenders of the 2nd amendment, stop using cute little labels like "conservative" and "liberal" - instead calling politicians as they are. They either are pro-freedom or anti-freedom. And it is time we start making "conservative" politicians pay at the ballot box when they stick it to us by ignoring us with their actions.

Tags: Guns , 2nd amendment ,
Liberty , Freedom