Don't Tread On Me
I have a problem with the title of the thread. It is a loaded term, in that it implies that there are irrational reasons for not surrendering our arms.
The entire concept of some entity demanding the surrendering of arms IS flawed, as there exists no reason in the universe to surrender arms.
Then it holds true that
EVERY reason to keep our arms is rational. I chose the title as I did in response to the encapsulated quote stating we need to "demonstrate reason".
Deavis
You beat me to the "ethical" v. "moral" implications of this debate. Good job, too! I'll take umbrage with one thing, though. No one can give up or abdicate an inalienable right. One could fail to exercise it, allow it to be infringed or ignored - even deny it - but it can never be abdicated, lost, stolen, or simply given away.
DogBonz
Quote:
How far are THEY willing to go? That is the question that needs answering.
No. I beg to differ...
The question is "Why do they want to take our guns?" That is the question. How far are they willing to go is directly proportional to what their agenda is. Some wana be do-gooder who thinks we don’t need guns because we all should just hold hands and sing coombiya is fairly easy to deal with. But then, there are those who wish to disarm the public to remove the people’s unalienable right to change their government by force if it becomes tyrannical and thus not “of the people”. These people, are much harder to over come, as they are most often louder, wealthier, and more powerful politically.
You beg to differ then you concur. I don't get it. The question does boil down to what they are willing to do because that is the challenge we must mount a defense for. They started this. We will stop it. What ever their next step is, is what they are willing to do. If they are willing to come for our arms, that is a move on their part. We push back at the soap box. We push back at the ballot box. We push back at the jury box. If they come to take our arms, we must push back with the cartridge box. At that point, there is no stopping until we have secured all of it.
They haven't completely blocked our right to meet them at the soap box. They haven't blocked our right to vote on the issue. We can still fight them in court. But, if they take our arms, we will loose every tool to fight them with, because the only reason we still have the soap box, the ballot box, and access to the jury box is because we have the arms to keep those things. (We don't have these thing because of the good graces of government. Government exists at
OUR good graces.)
CFriesen
I reject your assertion that we do not fight the "good" battle, with calm and patient reason. We are winning people over each and every day. It is those who have the unwaivering disarm the people agenda that need to be aware of the augury posited here.
Have you noticed a curious lack of doomsday panic from the anti gun crowd in the aftermath of these recent school shootings? They realize that fish will no longer take the bait. People are beginning to realize these attacks could have been thwarted - or possibly not even attempted - had there been armed teachers, principles, janitors, cafeteria workers, etc present. "Gun control" helped make these shootings attractive to the perpetrators. "Gun control" helped make them devastating. The lies of the anti-gun-rights folks are being exposed by the truth. We espouse that here all the time.
To take an approach that would coddle people who take a “reasonable controls and registration” approach to our rights debate would be disingenuous. I wouldn't lead them on with lies only to loose them for good later when they find they were duped. Even hoping for a majoritarian consensus is inappropriate in our society - a constitutional society - because the consensus has already been cast as law with the ratification of the Constitution. We've already settled our compromises with the discussion, drafting, and ratification of the Constitution. The supreme law of the land has been set. It is to be obeyed and not bent, twisted, misconstrued, interpreted, redefined, ignored, stretched, limited, or treated as a "living" document. We cannot approach our rights in any fashion other than how we respect, protect, and support that very Constitution that provides for the protections of those rights. We only have the truth, the drive to remain free, and the tools to secure it all.
Finally… the practice of indulging in self-validation is good for one’s self-worth, but it does NOTHING to make them competitive.
I'll ignore this. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Simply sitting around and repeatedly telling others who think that WE are right that WE in fact are right feels good. It is safe. It also makes US fat, lazy, and alienated from the mainstream.
Umm, unless the "mainstream" reads this as well.
Being competitive in this game means constantly and critically re-evaluating one’s approach; testing the strategies and assessing their efficacy. OUR opponents do this constantly and as a matter of course.
Our "competitors" have to. Their goal is to disarm us in the face of, and contrary to, the Supreme Law of the Land. Once a lie is dispelled, our "competitors" need to find a new tack.
OUR stance
IS constant because it is aligned with the truth and in compliance with that Supreme Law of the Land - namely, the Constitution - and all the principles of freedom and security the Constitution is based upon.
They are benefiting greatly from OUR obstinate refusal to even listen to those who might in any way question what we are doing.
Nothing like a little delusion to brighten your day, I suppose.
If the things that I have said during the course of the past several days are irritating… GOOD. It’s time to think about the real reason why it irritates you. People who KNOW what they know, who are CONFIDENT in what they know, are not threatened by a critical or questioning voice. They are able to rise to the occasion and proceed with dignity and honor and respect. They don’t complain about being questioned, and they don’t resent having their emotions stirred.
You haven't been an irritation. You have been an excellent vehicle from which we have peddled the truth. Thanks for taking part! I'd dare say the majority of us here rose to the occasion - including you.
Woody
You all need to remember where the real middle is. It is the Constitution. The Constitution is the biggest compromise - the best compromise - ever written. It is where distribution of power for security and the common good meets with the protection of rights, freedom, and personal sovereignty. B.E.Wood
