Why I need an M16
Guess it's time to dust this one off and get it back out:
Why I Need To Own An M-16?
I am moved to write that as I was thinking how I pitied the rest of the semi-free world
who do not understand liberty. Those having never really had it, and having been
conditioned to reject true freedom and accept the propaganda and false freedom of your
own government, the world media and the UN. Unfortunately many are conditioned to
these evils and have accepted the intellectually void, historically unfounded, "guns are
bad" argument. Anyway, if you can get past your conditioning, here's my response to the
question.
Some of you may ask, “Why you think that it is your god given right to own a weapon
that was specifically designed to cause harm."
Let's start with a little history. About 230 years ago, some incredibly gifted, wealthy,
slave-owning white guys looked at Western Civilization and undertook what is
undoubtedly the most radical, profound political revolution ever conceived.
Despite what the history books say, it really wasn't about taxes, or troops in people's
homes, or the price of tea or any of that crap. These men were British subjects, but taxes
were lower in the colonies than in England at the time of the Revolution, there was
unprecedented freedom, particularly on the frontier, and these guys were generally the
wealthy elite who could have been colonial governors if they had chosen to. They could
have afforded to drink tea until they were urinating pure caffeine.
Another misconception was that it was a popular revolution. I don't remember who said it,
but one of those old dead white guys said that the colonists were divided roughly into
thirds, one third loyalist, one third ambivalent, and one third revolutionary (sound
familiar?). It took years of coercion and propaganda to motivate the general public to take
up arms against the Britts.
What was our Revolution all about then? These guys realized, 2000 miles from their ruling
country that they had an unprecedented opportunity to revolt and form a radical new
self-government, where political power was vested in the People themselves, not in a
ruling class.
It was an ideological revolution that is still radical today, with the Constitution as the
Blueprint for Freedom. In this system, individual liberty is the beginning and end of all
government activity. That is to say, government powers are only supposed to extend so
far, and only with the permission of the governed. Ideally, where my rights as a citizen
begin, the powers of government come to an abrupt halt. Conversely, the primary function
of government is to guarantee my liberties, hence the Bill of Rights. So what we have is an
incredibly radical new power structure, one not truly duplicated anywhere else in the
world.
So how does this explain why I need an M-16?
What the founding fathers knew, and so many of the "People" have forgotten today(or
never learned), is that Power is a zero sum game. If I have it, then the government doesn't,
and vice versa. Even many pro-gun citizens miss the point and we allow ourselves to be
distracted with "rights" issues, that while they exist, aren't specifically addressed by the
Constitution (right to hunt, right to self-defense, etc.)
The Constitution, the Blueprint for Freedom, and the Bill of Rights, the non-expiring
guarantee of liberty, are about one thing: Power. So don't get confused by other issues
here. If this is a country where Power is truly vested in the People, and the government is
LIMITED by the Constitution, then my ownership of an AR-15 is off limits to the
government. The Second Amendment guarantees my Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and
the Constitution limits the government to very specific, narrow activities, which does not
include regulating guns. So, not only is this right specifically reserved to the People (or,
even with a loose interpretation, the states), it also falls outside of the boundaries outlined
in the Constitution for the Federal Govt.
It’s a double whammy.
Why is it so important to us? Some people fear a tyrannical government taking over (some
think they're "paranoid", despite so many historical lessons that could fill several books;
but that's another topic). But most, I believe, are more like me. We still believe in the
Revolution and its ideals. We ARE Revolutionaries. Power is vested in ME, as a citizen,
and not in the government. It cannot be taken without my permission, which I do not give.
Remember, it’s a zero sum game, so if the government can infringe those liberties, then
liberty really doesn't exist at all, except in theory.
Well, I don't want theoretical freedom. I want the real stuff.
So some argue we still have freedom of the press and the rest of it, why the big deal over
guns? Well, the Bill of Rights is not a buffet. We don't get to pick and choose. I don't like
liberal neo-Socialist rhetoric, but I'm not calling for the abolishment of free speech, am I?
Because I know that the First Amendment is also about Power - the Power of information
(much deadlier than guns, in the right hands, by the way. Case in point, Hitler, whose
propaganda machine convinced the Germans to commit unthinkable atrocities; but I
digress).
Many of us here in the U.S. see the slow, steady, reversal of our Power structure. Our
rights are becoming more "theoretical" all the time. Anyone see the Dateline NBC story on
the Louisiana police who are confiscating cars and money from out of state motorists,
without a trial (due process) and are not even charging them with a crime or arresting
them? How about the IRS, which has the power to confiscate just about anything you own
with the wave of a bureaucrat’s pen. Both of these are examples of activities strictly
forbidden by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, yet it happens all the time and there are
many more examples beyond these.
So you see, it's not just the Second Amendment where the reversal of Power is evident.
Anymore, it seems that the Constitution is just a shell and government doesn't exist for the
people, rather the people (taxpayers) exist for the government. If you’ve never been an
American, that's a subtle distinction you may miss, but it’s the whole ball of wax to us.
So, like the colonists at Lexington and Concord, this is the issue where we choose to
make our stand. Not over taxes, which are atrocious or unreasonable search and seizure,
which is rampant, or the separation of powers (who said Clinton could declare war all by
himself, anyway?) or any of that other stuff, but over my Assault Rifle. Why? Because like
our forefathers (80 civilians on a bridge against 1800 regular troops! How committed
were they?), we realize it’s the foundation of Real Power. Without a weapon capable of
providing adequate resistance to overthrow an unjust, tyrannical, unConstitutional
government, the rest of those rights truly are hollow, no longer belong to the people, and
can be rescinded at any time by the government (many feel we're already at that point). At
that point they are no longer rights. They're privileges. Once again, a subtle difference sure
to escape those of you who think more “liberallyâ€, given your "conditioning".
If the government can take my Assault Rifle, or restrict the amount of ammunition it
holds, or restrict further purchases of "Assault Weapons" then the revolution is dead and
so are the ideals countless thousands have died for. There's a reason for the Second
Amendment and gun ownership (ESPECIALLY assault rifles), a reason those colonists on
that bridge understood; its the last of my rights to go.
THAT'S why I need an Assault Rifle.
Some will not really understand any of this, which only serves to make my point. If you
don't get it, you're really not free, and I pity you.
(Oh, one more thing. I'll address God as well. My "God given rights" are described in the
Constitution as "inalienable". Look it up in the dictionary.)
Be free.