Is your state free? An examination of how the 2nd effects you. Part 1 of 3 click here
Turns out you are already part of the militia, yes you! Part 2 of 3 click here
So the Second Amendment only applies to people in the Militias? Not everyone should be able to own a gun. I have written two posts explaining that, right? Not at all. The Second Amendment ensures all people the ability to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. It states that the right is of the “people”, not the right of the “militia”. It is not a privilege to be easily granted or taken away. It is a right. All people on the planet should be able to keep arms for their protection and to ensure the Free State. The militia is a tool that is necessary to ensure the Free State. It is obvious that people have a right to defend themselves and their ability to live in a Free State. The Second Amendment implies why the natural right should not be imposed upon. The right to keep and bear arms is not up for debate. It’s as natural as the right to learn and think freely. It’s not something that anyone granted to us. We didn’t earn the right just to have it to be able to be taken away. It is always there. The ability to defend yourself is as natural as breathing. Keeping yourself and those you care about safe is a given.
We may agree to voluntarily give up parts of our right in exchange for the opportunity to live in the society that we do. The framework to which that is predicated is that we do not allow the right to personal defense, or to keep and bear arms, to be infringed or taken away. The Second Amendment is a defense from people relying heavily on the government equally as much as it is a protection for the people from a tyrannical government. If we are becoming too lazy to defend ourselves the Second Amendment is imploring us not to give up that natural right in exchange for some perceived sense of protection. The amendment states the militia is necessary for a Free State. The right to keep and bear arms should not be traded in exchange for part of the Free State. The Free State is protected by us, not given to us by the government. I’m not saying that the government doesn't have its share of the responsibility of ensuring the Free State. I'm just saying it’s not the only part. We as citizens have to keep up our part as well.
The government is like the rec center we play basketball at. They maintain the place we play at, they supply the referees. We the people are the ones that play the game. Weather we are going to win or lose is up to us. How we play is just as important as winning or losing. No one likes to play a game against the whiny brat and no one likes to play against cheats. Americans love a winner, but a winner that plays with integrity and passion. How can we as a nation disregard the people in our own communities and give up our natural rights thinking that it will somehow makes us better for it? To stick with the analogy of a basketball team, we need to show up to practice and learn how to work with our team mates, even the ones we don’t get along with. We need to put in the work, not just think that we are all stars at the game because our families before us were good at ball. Others put in work but we tend to only remember the highlights. We need to study the films of our past games and learn how together we can fix our mistakes and improve our systems. We need to hit the weights and get stronger. By that I am referring to becoming the most educated society in the world, not just pop cultured. Actually be well rounded in all aspects of our education. Isn’t that a novel idea, looking right at you universities. Pull your heads out of your wallets and teach the students to excel in all aspects of academia, not just the ones that will make them money in their future careers.
Students, go to college to learn about everything and not just to get a good job. A degree does not guarantee success. Don’t be blind. Don’t speak nonsense like, “I was never taught anything useful in school. I know that the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell but I never learned how to file my taxes.” To that I would answer that school is where you learn how to learn. That way when you come across something you don’t know, you will be confident and smart enough to figure out how to solve those problems yourself.
Additionally, we live in a world with Google. We literally have phones we can ask questions into and get answers. We all need to stop being lazy and really push ourselves. As adults, how often do we pick a subject and study it using the skills we learned in school? Hobbies are great and enjoyable, but we need to study new and difficult subjects also. Overcoming a challenge never feels bad. Eating our veggies is good for us, sustaining on treats alone will literally kill us.
School also teaches social skills. High school is one of the hardest places to socially navigate. After high school you are not forced into as many of the uncomfortable situations, but sometimes we have to take the steps and put ourselves in awkward social situations for the betterment of everyone around us. Conversing with someone you don’t how they feel about the Second Amendment is a great exercise. You may be enlightened by someone else’s opinion and better understand the world around you. Using the good social skills we learned in school will help us do that. Building positive social skills one reason why extracurricular activities are so beneficial to our eventual social development. Join the chess club, play the sports, be in the band. All of them will pay dividends in your future life and ventures. If you have learned how to handle situations from school in a healthy way, then you will be able to handle them much easier as an adult.
The statement “Yeah but that's not meant to include AR-15’s and machine guns” really put me to think. After my initial indignation at the idea of someone telling me what I can and can’t do, I took a step back and thought about it. What is meant by bear arms? If the overall goal is to ensure a Free State, how do we accomplish that? The Second Amendment is written with the evolution of weaponry in mind.
I remember reading about the first indoor toilets or “water closets” and indoor septic systems and how people didn’t trust them. They couldn’t understand how it wouldn't stink up your house to have indoor sewage. But as understanding increased, it became a natural and part of our everyday lives. Now you wouldn’t buy a house without one. Telegraphs evolved into telephones, telephones into cell phones, cell phones into smart phones. A desktop computer is almost unnecessary with everything we have now. The idea of limiting people to only the technology from 30’s and 40’s is ridiculous.
Imagine bringing a smart phone to the 1940’s. It would be intimidating and possibly scary to people who don’t understand how to use it. I have watched as people try to teach their parents new technology just to have their parents blow up in frustration and never use “the damn thing”. I think that is how a lot of people feel about the AR style rifles. It’s that new style and we don't need it. Their old hunting rifle has always been just fine. There is probably confusion, intimidation and fear with the AR platforms. Realistically, they have more to fear from the flu than they do an AR or modern sporting rifles (MSR). They don’t understand how to use it or the capabilities.
Their protest is similar to how someone from the 1940’s might say that you don’t need a smart phone. They have never needed one. The telephone that they have has always worked just fine. But to someone who uses a smart phone, it would seem ignorant to hold such an opinion. That is the frustration that a lot of people who use AR style and MSR’s feel when someone says they don’t need one. True I don’t need one. Just as you don't “NEED” your smart devices. The world still turned while we sent hand written letters, but it just seems silly to not use technology. In fact wars have gotten less deadly as weapons technology has increased. I understand that MSR to smartphone is not a perfect comparison. But we do accept the dangers of our modern technology. For example, thousands of deaths are caused by texting while driving, the societal damage caused by addictions found on the internet, and the damage of identity theft from having your information easily accessible. Cyber bullying leading to suicide is an especially troubling problem. All of them have stems into our smart technology. But obviously we accept that the benefits outweigh the negative consequences. That is the attitude Pro-Second Amendment communities have towards guns. Yes, weapons can be dangerous, but they don't have to be scary.
The most complete report from the Center for Disease Control shows that more people die from accidental falls than do from gun homicides. Even less when it’s just from rifles and more so if we only count MSR’s. (CDC 2017) The dangers that come with our smart devices are more likely to happen to you than an assault with an “assault weapon”. We all accept the risk with our devices as tolerable. We have even less to fear from MSR’s. I understand that its feels good to have something to blame. The scary black rifle is an easy target. But in reality if you are opposed to an MSR you appear as if you would rather live with the telegraph during the age of smart phones. Take time to get educated on what is really dangerous in your life. Have the courage to champion a cause that can make a real difference and help out our society.
I feel it would be irresponsible if I didn't take a moment to mention that suicide it the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. It is the second among service members and veterans. I don’t know why suicide rates among veterans are so high. Perhaps it’s caused by things they have seen or maybe the lifestyle that comes with military service. I have experienced extreme highs and lows during my time in the service. Suicide is a large problem that affects all of us. There are things we can do to help. We need to build stronger communities and families. I am not saying that if someone you know committed suicide it’s because of a weak family or community. I am saying that with stronger communities and families we may be able to notice and help people struggling before it gets to that point. I feel guilt from knowing people who committed suicide. I fear that I will know more. I wish I could say that I do my part to help, but sometimes I feel useless. It’s difficult to get out of the comfort zone and reach out to people I haven't talked to for a while. I really should practice what I preach a little more. I’m sorry.
It has been said that the founding fathers only meant muskets, and that they couldn’t have known how the weapons would change. That is not true. During the time the second amendment was written there was massive innovation going on in weapon design. They had multiple shot weapons, smooth bore muskets, versions of shotguns, rifles and cannons. The idea that the people who had just liberated the colonies didn’t have their ear to the ground when it came to the development of weapons is ridiculous. Of course they were aware of the multiple options and the growing capabilities of weaponry. The main innovations in weapons designs at the time came from France, England, and Germany. Not to mention all of the innovation being made in the States themselves. All of these groups were big players in the revolutionary war. To think that the people who had the foresight to establish a government by the people and for the people wouldn't have considered how the arms would continue to innovate is ridiculous. They knew that the core principle would stay the same. I can’t speak to what they would think about our current armaments, but I feel I can safely say you would be remiss if you think they were only speaking about a musket. These men were visionaries that had the future on their minds. Unlike a lot of Americans who only see violent death in the movies, the colonist in the 1770’s saw first-hand what weapons were capable of doing. The right to bear arms is only second to the freedom of speech.
When you think of being armed, generally you don't think of someone out hunting, or the sport shooters like Olympians, or the tournament competitors. The phrase conjures a more serious and dangerous image. If someone is armed it means they are equipped with the tools capable of causing and defending themselves from serious bodily harm. These tools are both offensive as well as defensive. You are able to arm your house with a security system or arm your cars alarm. Being armed means being ready for threats that you could face and being as prepared as you can be for those threats. In the case of the Second Amendment it guarantees that the government won’t interfere with our right as humans to arm ourselves with the best tools to defend ourselves. This includes knowledge in offensive as well as defensive tools. A civilian security guard might want to invest in his own kit for his protection. He has the right to do so. It bears repeating that weapons are not simple toys to be played with. Even the best trick shot shooters follow the universal safety rules. The right of the people to keep and bear arms means we can have all of our tools, both offensive and defensive. Information, guns, bulletproof vest, shooting ranges, the ability to teach and take classes about our own defense are all examples of tools that shall not be infringed. The dissemination of information and the practice of the fundamentals in first aid and marksmanship should be what gun control laws are about. Not what guns or what types we can or can’t have.
If the government said they will establish non mandatory free training for all citizens in basic marksmanship and first aid, that is a common sense gun law I could get behind. Instead of giving people a fish as a false sense of security, they should be teaching people how to fish by offering them free hands on education on how be able to defend themselves and care for one another.
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