The Security Of A Free State
Second Thoughts About the Second Amendment
After a lifetime of being a so-called “gun nut” I spent six years living abroad. Some of that time I spent in Afghanistan, carrying weapons daily in the course of my duties. The rest I spent in Eastern Europe, with access to nothing more than a Spyderco for daily carry. What I noticed, living in the capital city surrounded by people all day, was that I did, in fact, feel pretty safe. Aside from generally preferring to have a weapon on me at all times, I felt ok.
Contrast this to living in the USA and needing to be constantly armed. The change was alarming.
Though most people in Eastern Europe I spoke to seemed to have a favorable opinion of firearms, I know only two who personally own them, and none who carry them — legally. The presence of various forms of law enforcement officers, from traffic police, to patrol officers, and gendarmerie, were a common sight. Indeed, I saw far more armed police in Sofia in one day than I ever did in the USA. And in my time there, I saw almost no crime whatsoever.
None.
“Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you’ll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.”
― Stephen King
Over many drinks and many conversations, my Bulgarian friends asked me about why “people in the USA need firearms”. They asked this a lot, actually. And no matter how often or how patiently I tried, they never seemed to understand the answer beyond a surface level. It didn’t resonate in the marrow of their bones, and this struck me odd for a country that spent 500 years suffering under the Ottoman yoke. They viewed guns as “neat”, but more or less legally unobtainable. Shooting was something they’d try when they came to the USA, if ever. There was no innate understanding of a God-given RIGHT to own a weapon. So I began to wonder….was the USA wrong in our approach to firearms?
No.
Absolutely not.
Not. Even. A. Little.
If anything, the need for a Nation of Riflemen has become stronger than ever.
“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.”
I spent most of 2020 in Afghanistan, but I remember watching the lunacy of “Covid America” on television. I very clearly recall seeing a column of National Guardsmen marching through a residential town and ordering everyone back in their homes — going so far as to fire riot control rounds at civilians on their porch. The government, in spite of being wildly outgunned, had created a culture of panic and gained a monopoly on force. That’s never a good thing.
Not to mention the armed soldiers surrounding Washington DC after the election.
Civilians having access to firearms is the greatest deterrent to tyranny and government overreach there is. A well armed, well trained civilian populace results in a safer population and a less abusive government. And if there is anything America needs, it’s a less abusive government. Armed civilians ended the Bundy standoff without any fatalities. Armed Federal agents such as Lon Horiuchi murdered Randy Weaver’s family and killed 76 Americans in Waco whose only crime was being weird.
There has never been, nor will there ever be more tyranny than at the hands of the government. A quick look at 20th century history will show anyone who doubts. The naked monopoly of force against an unarmed populace is a recipe for disaster. And what is the deterrent to that?
An armed, trained, disciplined populace. The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting. It is intended to allow the people to defend themselves from government tyranny.
To wit: Firearms, ammunition, accoutrements, and training courses should be tax deductible.
“Pick up a rifle and you change instantly from a subject to a citizen.”
Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper
The problem facing the United States now is that while many Americans are armed, and some are well trained, they seem to have forgotten that with great power comes great responsibility. Owning a weapon doesn’t make one armed anymore than owning a guitar makes one a musician. We have an entire generation or two of Americans who were well trained by the military to deploy overseas and employ weapon systems. What a fantastic time to disseminate that knowledge to the young Americans, and who better to do it?
However.
The stumbling block facing American gun ownership today is that while all citizens have the Right to bear arms, most lack the training, disposition, and instinct to do so properly. The most often cited argument against civilian gun ownership I’ve heard in Europe is “what about all the school shootings?” or “what about the mass shootings?” Fair point.
My answer is always the same: crazy people shouldn’t have firearms. America has a mental health crisis unlike anything the world has ever seen, and no one is talking about it. I don’t think that a marginalized, rage-filled, blue-haired, poly-cat family on behavior meds is the best place to park a military rifle and a thousand rounds of ammo. And I’m not saying anything to that effect. Nor is a “migrant” with a weapon supplied by MS-13, or a gangbanger with half a dozen felonies. A cornerstone of gun ownership is responsibility. I would, in fact, go so far as to say that a DUI should disqualify anyone from firearm ownership permanently.
Nor is it enough to say that “only the police should have guns”. We all remember the well-armed, well-trained, chicken-hearted cowards of the Uvalde Police Department standing outside while children were dying. They will never live down their guilt by omission of action, and they shouldn’t. Let them wear it as a permanent badge of shame.
Conversely, many of us also remember the absolute Chad of an SAS operator who stormed a hotel in Kenya by himself because it was the right thing to do, and he was the right man for it. The perfect example of a good man with a gun making the world a better place.
The solution, then, seems simple: Make better men.
The US seems to be heading in the opposite direction, however. Ask any young person what their *Rights* are and they may be able to tell you. Ask them about their *responsibilities*, however, and all you’ll hear is crickets. They don’t know because they haven’t been taught.
They know about pronouns though, don’t they?
If America is to find its way back to its roots, and to reestablish itself as a world power — because it is collapsing more rapidly than Americans can believe — it will need a generation of strong men and women to carry this tradition forward. Young men and women who understand patriotism, duty, honor, and all the things that once made this country great.
“That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”― George Orwell
Firearms training needs to be nationwide as a normal part of childhood. Don’t want one? Don’t buy one, but at least know how to handle it safely. The BATF needs to be put in its place. Rebuilding a family-centric, American gun culture is the only way forward. Especially with your President opening the border to those who openly hate you and wish to do you harm. No disarmed population has ever fared well.
Do your part.
