Oh dear.
Politics. Run away! Run away!
Actually, this post isn’t so much about politics
as it is simple government philosophy. Game
or Gamey?
I should poll you, actually. I don’t often dive into the sordid world of hopelessly
dichotic beliefs, but recent events have me lathered. Before anyone asks me about Chick-fil-A, it’s
a free country. I don’t eat there because
the food lacks enough distinction to warrant an average 30% price premium. If you patronize them because you like the
food or believe your money is going to a worthy organization, you are exercising
your First Amendment rights. Good for
you! I beg you though; don’t forget why
you have that right in the first place.
Humanity’s polarizers are diligently wrecking any
notions of moderate thinking lately.
Okay, wait.
That was a stupid sentence. They’ve
been at it since the beginning of time, but they’ve been doing it on an
accelerated pace these days, and without any discretion. Haven’t you noticed? American media outlets such as CNN and FOX (I
lovingly nickname them Certainly Not News and For Only Xenophobes) regularly
joust opposing ideology upon their quasi-objective high-horses. Pick a side, there is no middle. That’s what they prefer, anyway. The pragmatic middle isn’t good TV. It also doesn’t go hand-in-hand with a
two-party political system. Yes, I know
there are other parties and independent candidates, but until any of them wins
the highest seat—that chair being in the Oval Office—perception reigns.
Make no mistake, both the Dems and Pubs have
spooky agendas behind their good-willed façades. Obviously, Barak Obama’s efforts create a larger
government with increasing oversight and intrusion. Their old paradigm of throwing money at our
problems apparently still applies. One
commonly overlooked reinforcement, however, is a basic lesson from
Macroeconomics 101. Indeed, government
spending is recession preventative maintenance.
Ain’t Hoover Dam nice? Someone just
forgot to tell the current president that we actually don’t have unlimited
national wealth. Umm, Mr. President, who’s
going to pay it all back and when? Us,
and later. Always later, if at all. Why aren’t congressmen jailed with Bernie
Madoff? Ponzis are okay when it’s the
government, right?
Just as frightening is the prospect of returning
to corporate money grabs runneth amok. Bush
Administration—oil, insurance, pharma, military-industrial—take your pick,
everything jumped. Given Romney’s
history, I see legislative sessions running full tilt for the highest-paying
<cough cough> er…lobbied advantages for certain friendly industries. Which do you think his will be?
But What
Keeps Them Honest?
These days, not much. With regard to the media, you now have easy access
to outside outlets such as the BBC, Der Spiegel and Al Jazeera. If you dare look at those, occasionally you
might find some obvious stories our local media would rather not report. After all, who wants to hear about America’s
diplomatic failures! But the media can’t
seem to reel in our nation’s policy makers.
Embarrassment aversion is only an Oscar-worthy apology away. Frankly, they are driven by motives ranging anywhere
from personal esteem to the typical mega-windfall consultancies that await
their eventual public exit. And some don’t
even bother waiting! Yeah, I don't like the constant posturing and what our system's political reality has become. I was suddenly reminded of something yesterday—the one
unfathomable recourse that’s been lost for generations: insurrection.
WHAT?
Yes, the fear of violent insurrection. The kind you may have read about in a middle
school’s history textbook but never truly understood because you were either hormone
distracted, or only concerned with which particular phrase applied to the next pop
quiz. Insurrection is the public’s last
resort for out-of-control politicians who’ve forgotten the word “representative”. Too much time elapses before we vote them
out. The damage is done; their payday awaits. NEXT! Insurrection,
or at least the fear of it, has been carefully whittled away, first in our
minds, and now whenever the chance to push firearm regulation presents itself.
The Joker
First, I offer my sincerest condolences to the
victims of the Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting. Justice will be yours, and when so, hopefully
peace.
Because of that disaster, and typically after similar
events, gun control advocates launch into action, citing the need to ban
certain firearms. Just today our
president said, “I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that
AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals." And, "…they belong on the battlefield of
war, not on the streets of our cities.”
A lot, eh? Sounds like a
challenge, but that’s not my point. As
well, I don’t believe Kalashnikovs belong out on the streets. They belong in our closets, brought out routinely
for practice and maintenance in home defense, and to remind our beloved
representatives that there is an alternative solution for rampant greed. Insurrection! Now folks, don’t go taking my commentary out
of context and running to the FBI or Secret Service with concerns I’m planning
an assassination. We have enough
extremist poppycock traipsing around in the minds of, to quote Gene Wilder from
Blazing Saddles, “…you know—morons.” Our
representatives need always embrace but also fear their constituency—for votes
and for forced expulsion. Similarly, our
military must not entertain unchallengeable hubris.
Have you
ever really considered the full
intent of our nation’s Second Amendment?
I think most of us recall the right to bear arms
and well-regulated militia bits, but why did our founding fathers craft these particular
words into our laws? Don’t forget why we
are a nation in the first place! I think
New Hampshire’s Constitution said it best in Article 10:
”Government being instituted for the common
benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the
private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men;
therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty
manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the
people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new
government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and
oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of
mankind.”
In a nutshell, that’s the bottom line case for
weapon ownership in this country. Sure,
firearms carry intrinsic problems. I
cannot disagree that guns make it much easier for the criminally-minded to do
their will. Fortunately, the vast
majority of us are not criminally-minded.
Firearms are a deterrent of the highest order. Without them, undesirables may be more
inclined (at least, in this particular country) to commit all sorts of violent mayhem. Worse, governments are free to tyrannize
unchecked. Waiting for a Godwin’s Law
reference? Seriously, it’s not
needed. I think history has proven that
unbridled governments eventually create human-costly rebellions. Arab Spring is nothing new. And, while I endear so many things from our
European friends, my identity will remain distinctly and independently
American. I don’t want your monarchies, I
don’t need your socialized healthcare, and I don’t want your 50% personal tax rates. What I want is for the rest of the world to truly believe it when someone points to our country on a map and says, "That is the land of the free." I so very much want to believe it too, and if protecting our constitutional rights means keeping a tool hidden in the closet or next to the bed, perhaps it's best that way.
