Why I Carry A Gun by Jeff Jackson (8/18/04)

The Land of the Free - A Conservative Politics Web Site
This Op/Ed is the original thought for my ConservaCast on August 18, 2004 entitled Why I Carry A Gun. To listen, go to my section of site and select 081804whyiamarmed.

When I get into a discussion with my friends who are generally quite conservative about firearms and carrying guns, the question that always seems to come up is "Why exactly do you carry?" I know the response most of my friends give and what they expect me to say as well. They expect me to say that I carry to protect myself against my fellow citizens who have little, if any, respect for the law. They expect me to say that I carry to stop from being robbed at the ATM, carjacked at a red light or held up in the parking lot.

And while these are true reasons for me to carry I answer more directly. My answer is that while this is all true, I carry because it is my Constitutional right and duty to be properly armed to protect not only myself, but those around me from the tyranny of government.

Now THAT gets funny looks. They look at me and say "Jeff YOU'RE NUTS!" They say "I guarantee that the government has no interest in you!" They say "You're INSANE! You have nothing to fear." They think that when I talk like I do in The Vigilant Patriot that I am out in left field. Or is that "right" field?

I expect that response from them and I wish that were true that I was "nuts". History however has taught us nothing if not to be wary of government. Even our founding fathers understood this without living through dictators such as Hitler and Stalin.

I don't know where we got off track as a society to the point where we forget this lesson and how we are now to a point where we have lost sight of the principles that America was founded under. I don't know where we lost sight of the warnings of our founders and the warnings of history.

Conservatives, like their leftist counterparts, often suffer from their own blinders. These "blinders" much like those of a horse in a race make it impossible to see anything outside of their immediate path. The blinders make it impossible to see anything except that which is directly before them. Government, for conservatives, often exists in their peripheral vision because conservatives don't rely on government for assistance and aid for the most part so government is ignored. Government is outside of their field of view. And in a world where we have so much to worry about personally such as family and work, it is easy to understand why people only focus on those things directly in their path and ignore the peripheral functions of government. After all, that's where government is supposed to be in the minds of conservatives; limited and peripheral to our lives.

Many conservatives ignore government and what government does. And that is a mistake that will prove fatal to the welfare of this nation if it continues to be a trend. For a lot of people that support the second amendment they see it as only serving as a defense against their fellow citizens who are criminals that would do them harm or rob them because those criminals effect them directly. These criminals are within their field of view. And I do not want to give the impression that is not an important reason for the amendment because there are many people in this country that have no respect for our laws.

But our founding fathers gave us the second amendment to help citizens protect against "criminals" more powerful than the every day crook. One reason for the amendment was for personal self defense. The second and more important reason was to prevent the tyranny of government. And it is our Constitutional right and duty to be armed as the words say "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Even if there is not an immediate danger, it is still our right and duty as citizens of the United States.

When conservatives take their blinders off however they can see how government is effecting them and the nation negatively. When the blinders come off, the gradual Socialization of America can be seen. But because people keep their blinders on, they look at me as a kook for saying that I carry a firearm to guard against government tyranny. People think that I am an extreme right wing lunatic. And that is sad. Because I am doing my Constitutional duty.

We have a growing socialist government in this country and it is more socialist than most people would ever dare to believe exists if they would just take off their blinders and see. And as this Socialist government expands, it has to do certain things. As it expands it has to take away your rights. We're not to the point of being completely oppressed by this evil but if we keep ignoring it, it will not be long before we are.

The first right that socialism has to take is your property rights because in socialism the government has to control the means of production; the land. And if you think that we aren't already at the point where land is being confiscated and horded away from the people, it is time to take your blinders off. The Endangered Species Act is a prime example of this confiscation. The ESA has a noble purpose, however it has been corrupted by Socialists to take your land and place it under government control.

At Los Angeles International Airport for example, the Fairy Shrimp are trumping private property rights. Federal officials want to place acres of land owned by the airport off limits to "protect" eggs that haven't hatched in years because the water chemistry in the shallow pools is not right nor is it deep enough. But the shrimp still hampers use of the land even though no shrimp technically exist. The potential that Fairy Shrimp may use this land is all it takes for government to control land now.

In addition the shrimp, if they ever did hatch, would attract more birds. In the last 14 years, there have been 632 "wildlife strikes" between birds, other animals and planes at LAX. Acres around the airport are already home to many endangered birds. The LA Times reports that the most recent incident of a "wildlife strike" was where a seagull caused the spinning turbine blades of a jumbo jet to fly out of balance and the metal peices thrown out of the engine knocked off the tail cone. That tail cone landed within feet of a family.

Luckily the plane landed without injuries. Luckily so did the tail cone.

And if the plane did crash because of the birds that get sucked into the engines because of the government mandated policy it would be the airlines that would be held accountable. Heaven forbid we hold government accountable afterall. Think you even could get away with sueing the government even if you realized the truth about them being responsible? Think again.

This is what happens when government takes over land and the management of that land. It turns into a situation where birds and shrimp are good and where the welfare of the citizens Senators and Representatives are elected to server is a bad thing. The birds and the shrimp have more legal rights and protections than the people flying in the airplane do. And all because government thinks that it knows better how to manage our land.

Still think that the government isn't to be feared? Still willing to put your faith in a government that would put the health and well being of a shrimp above its own citizens? And not even the wellbeing of a shrimp but simply the egg of a shrimp. This from a government that doesn't even want to recognize the human embreyo as something to be protected. But the egg of a shrimp now THAT is another thing all together! That is something to be strictly protected!

These are the kinds of things that when we take our blinders off we will see. We see what socialism brings and what government tyranny is and why we have the second amendment and why I say I carry a gun to protect myself, my family and even you from government tyranny.

These tyannies of government are the kinds of things that happen when government comes in and takes control of the land. And it is not an isolated problem. These are the reasons that we, as "the people", have to be armed. Because socialism is a creaping demon that will slowly devouer us. Today it is LA International Airport being told how to use its land and tomorrow it is you being told you cannot put an addition on your house because of an endangered mosquetto or some other such nonsense.

But until they come for many people those people will not see it or care about the growing socialist government. Not until they are directly effected will they cry foul. And at that point, because people are too willfully blinded to what is going on outside of their own immediate cares, it may very well be too late for them and for this country. And if you are not armed at that point, you never will be. The Socialist government will make darn sure of that.

That is why I am armed. That is why I am eternally vigilant. And you can thank me later because today I am certain that most people in America do not understand that reasoning. But some day they will. But probably they will only realize it when it is all too late.

There is a battle for America coming. Maybe not in my life time, but some day in the future, the battle for America will turn from a political one to a physical one.

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