Right to Keep and Bear Arms for Liberty

"With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live as slaves." --John Dickinson & Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Cause and Necessity of Taking up Arms, 1775

By Douglas V. Gibbs

To understand the United States Constitution one must understand the context of the time period it was written. The attitude of the Founding Fathers in regards to the sovereignty of the states, and the sovereignty of individuals, comes from their perception of the danger of a centralized system. The centralized system was best characterized by their frame of reference, the British Empire. The larger governmental system oppressed the smaller group of colonies, therefore, in the writing of the Constitution, the desire of the Founding Fathers was to protect individualism from a potentially tyrannical governmental system as they had experienced with the British Empire.

To protect sovereignty, the Founding Fathers needed to put into place a means to accomplish that.

When one reads the U.S. Constitution, one easily realizes the importance of freedom of speech, of the press, the right to bear arms, and so on. The reasons for those freedoms, however, is not so obvious. The U.S. Constitution was not written for the purpose of protecting your rights and property, but for the purpose of forming a more perfect union. However, the Founding Fathers understood that through creating a federal government, individual rights and the right to own property would be at risk. As a result, limitations were placed on the federal government as a means to protect individual sovereignty.

Freedom of speech was not placed in the Constitution to enable us to say whatever we want, for there is a certain amount of responsibility we are supposed to exhibit. Freedom of speech was specifically included in the Constitution to protect political speech. If a government was to act in a tyrannical manner against the sovereignty of the individual, the individual must be able to speak out against the tyrannical system.

Freedom of the Press was not protected by the Constitution so that the press could just print anything they want, but specifically to protect political speech in the press. In other words, the Founding Fathers expected the press to be the watchdogs of the government. If the federal government was to act in a tyrannical manner, the press should be able to report such to the people in order to protect state and individual sovereignty.

The right to keep and bear arms is a right protected by the Constitution for exactly similar reasons. Should a governmental system become tyrannical, the citizenry needed a way to protect themselves against such a system. This is what they did against Great Britain.

A progressive governmental system that tramples on the rights and liberties of the people must be reminded constantly that the people have the means to defend themselves against such tyranny. An armed populace is free. A disarmed populace are subjects.

The Founding Fathers did not desire for Americans to be subjects of any political power, and the United States was not to be the realm of any tyrannical ruler. If such an oligarchical system was to rise up, the American people needed a way to defend themselves, and a way to change the system back to what the Founding Fathers desired.

Should the government cross the line, Americans must be able to turn it all around - first through peaceful means, but if the government was to bring violence to the people, the people must be able to defend themselves.

The Founding Fathers believed it necessary, because of human nature, and the tendency of progressive government systems to become tyrannical, to give the people the means to stop such an oppressive system. The Founding Fathers understood that our freedom does not come easy - it must be fought for, and defended.

This is the reason for the crosshairs on Sarah Palin's site, and the verbiage that uses terms such as "fight the good fight."

The liberal left does not understand this line of thinking because they are nationalists. Nationalism is a love of government. They believe that a governmental system under liberal control is one of great benevolence, and anyone that dares to oppose such a liberal system to be a dangerous, small minded yokel who bitterly clings to his guns, Bible, and violence.

Conservatives, however, are individuals, and patriots. Patriotism is the love of country, not the love of government. Conservatives understand that government is necessary. As Madison put it, if men were angels, we would not need government. but men are not angels, so government is a necessary evil. Freedom is protected by government when government acts within its limitations that have been granted by the sovereign states and sovereign individuals. But when a government attempts to betray the sovereignty of the individual, the individual must be able to protect his liberties and property.

Those that support the U.S. Constitution does not have an obsession with guns as the liberal left Democrats suggest. Conservatives have an obsession with freedom, liberty, and defending what is rightfully theirs from a tyrannical government that wishes to rule with an iron fist.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary