There is NO substitute for freedom. Sometimes when people have
freedom, especially when they have always had it, they begin to take it
for granted. Freedom is arguably the most precious (and rarest) thing
in all mankind's tragic history. It is also one of the EASIEST things
to lose.
It is only after freedom is lost — when it is usually too late — that
most people FINALLY realize just how valuable a prize they have lost,
what a priceless quality of life they have carelessly allowed to slip
through their fingers.
Logically, it would seem that Americans, who have known freedom as no
other people have ever known it, would hold the above ideas as
self-evident, axiomatic, beyond discussion. You would think that our
people would hold the memory of all those who created and defended our
freedoms as a sacred obligation — a legacy they were bound to pass on
to their progeny; that we would defend, with all our might, each one of
the great freedoms we have inherited and would fight ANY incursions or
attempts to abridge or limit any one of them in any way.
Unfortunately, this is not the way it IS at all. Tragically, it is the
free people of this world who are the most careless about their
freedoms. Strangely, those freedoms are not usually lost by conquest.
Instead, they are generally eroded away, bit by bit, one by one, a
little at a time until there is nothing left. This is not done by
conquering armies but by the encroaching ambitions of their own
leaders. The most difficult aspect of such loss to understand is that
the whole process takes place, not only with the indifference of the
people, but often with their consent and even enthusiastic INSISTENCE!
A free people can be such trusting fools! Even when they were taught
the lessons of history, how quickly they forget them. In the case of
students of the past fifty years or so, those lessons were NEVER
TAUGHT! They never learned that a freedom lost (or even diminished) is
almost impossible to regain. Only a fool would knowingly trade freedom
for security yet our people are doing it practically daily. Having
traded freedom for security, the fool remains a fool UNTIL he, one day,
awakens to the cold hard truth that THERE IS NO SECURITY WITHOUT
FREEDOM!
By then it is usually too late to turn back.
A prime example of this whole process is the drive toward "gun control"
which is not truly "gun" control but actually "people" control. The
first thing an ambitious group of would-be tyrants does, to entrench
itself securely, is to take away weapons from the hands of a free
people. Ever since the late 1960s the American people have been sold a
spurious argument that if only they would give up their right to keep
and bear arms they would be more secure in their persons and property.
"Give US your guns and WE will protect you!" Unfortunately, in country
after country throughout mankind's long existence, history has shown
with blinding clarity that the exact opposite is true. When people give
up their weapons and the government has all the guns is precisely when
security disappears and the real killing begins.
In the U.S. today, those states and cities with the most rigid gun
control laws have the worst records of violent crime. On the other
hand, where the people are free to keep and bear arms, crime decreases
dramatically. Washington, DC, where guns are totally restricted, is the
crime capitol of the nation. In the state of Vermont, there is NO state
restriction on the right to carry a firearm. You do NOT have to ask ANY
bureaucrat for permission to carry a concealed weapon. Yet their
statistics of violent crime are extremely low. The reason should be
obvious with just a little thought. Honest men and women do NOT use
guns indiscriminately or criminally. But when a criminal does not KNOW
if a prospective victim is armed or not, he is less likely to attack.
Our mass media, newspapers, TV, magazines, etc. have, by and large,
been involved in brainwashing the American people that they should
relinquish their right of self protection. The message of freedom has
been almost totally suppressed. (Does this mean that I would recommend
that the media should be restricted in what they can or cannot say or
print? If anyone thinks that, even for a moment, you should go back and
re-read the first paragraphs of this column.)
The press has been working feverishly against the Second Amendment of
our Bill of Rights while just as vigorously opposing ANY restriction of
the First Amendment which guarantees their (and our) freedom of speech.
A ridiculous contradiction in logic! It would be just as absurd for a
supporter of the Second Amendment to try to restrict the First
Amendment.
Freedom is NOT separable! Either you have it or you don't.
Unfortunately, today the American people, once the freest on Earth are
now some of the most totally controlled by government. Many have not
yet awakened to that awful truth. The illusion of freedom is still
maintained but the innumerable Liliputian bonds have been stealthily and
craftily woven around the American "Gulliver." God willing, the older
generation, who still remember what freedom once was, will FINALLY begin
to aggressively pass that information on to their offspring, friends,
neighbors and anyone they know. The job of educating is great and the
time is getting short! Let's accept the responsibility and get on with
the task!