I was recently asked what I thought of the surge in gun purchases. Echoing the blog of a Mr. Bob Owens I said the nation is preparing for war. Personally, I don’t think it will be an all-out shooting war such as seen in the 1860s but the fact of the matter is, the American people no longer trust the government to represent their interests. And they are correct to do just that.
Every facet of American life is being regulated, controlled, constrained and strangled. They will tell you what size sodas you’re allowed to have, how much salt you should be allowed and now your doctor has to interrogate you on guns in the house by force of law. If you want out of the broken government Social Security system to save for your own retirement you are told you are stealing from those who entered the system before you. If you want to educate your child at home or a different school because the union monopoly on public education is an abject failure you hate children. If you want to opt-out of the socialized healthcare system you want people to die. If you oppose fiscally suicidal budgets you’re a racist. If you’re a Catholic who wants to refrain from a practice that runs counter to your faith -- and such abstention harms absolutely no one -- you will still be dragged to court where you will face ruinous fines and then imprisonment if you resist further.
The radio station you listen to is deemed hate speech. The church you attend is narrow-minded. Your paycheck caused that poverty. Your campaign poster caused a rampage shooting. You’re greedy, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, war-mongering imperialists. There is no more disagreement there is only vilification. It isn’t enough to plead your case, count the votes and then try again next election if you lose. You are to be legislated out of existence. And those watching the debate are encouraged to actively hate you.
The government doesn’t just fail to represent you and encourage other citizens to hate you; it actively sides with those who would do you harm. They claim to want to control gun violence but they refuse to properly incarcerate the career criminals who commit 4/5 of gun violence. Manifest schizophrenics are left untreated and free to roam. Jihadists can give Power Point presentations on the virtue of killing infidels inside a US government facility and any who may feel alarmed are conditioned to remain silent lest they be branded Islamophobes. To demand immigrants obey the law as a condition of their residency is deemed racist. There is more concern about whether our weapons of war are too harsh on our enemies rather than the safety of our children and spouses sent by the government to fight them. Yet, any who call for the government to heed the Constitution are deemed by the government to be potential anti-government terrorists. The violent felons, illegal immigrants, psychiatrically dangerous, jihadists – these have more consideration from the government and halls of power than people who want to provide for themselves on their own resourcefulness.
And why?
Because some recognize that unchecked government leads to economic ruin at best, tyranny at worst. But the bad actors refuse to heed the warnings. Whether the bad actors have malicious intent or are naïve enough to believe their own propaganda the result will be the same. We will have economic ruin and a brush with tyranny. It has to happen. It cannot be avoided. It is as certain as a chemical reaction and it is proven time and again by human history.
So, when the government ceases to represent us, treats us as any enemy merely for wanting to live our lives we grow mistrustful and seek security. And as the government is destined to lead us to ruin where civil order will erode -- if not outright collapse -- we must protect ourselves when the government cannot. And as there is a strong likelihood that the government may seek to throw off its constitutional restraints we must also protect ourselves from that which should protect us per its constitutional charter.
That is why we are buying guns. We will not stop buying them and to try and take them from us would be foolish in the extreme.
Only a fool would fail to recognize this truth and only an enemy would complain about speaking it.
