Monday, August 13, 2018

On being disarmed

People should not be punished for having weapons to use...nor for words to speak...nor for ideas to think. They should be punished only for using those things to do evil.

Weapons, words, and ideas must not be arbitrarily restricted, for they are essential for opposing evil and doing good.

A holstered weapon -- just as an appropriately unspoken word or a prudently guarded idea -- offends no one. Those who live in fear of weapons, words or ideas perhaps should get some -- and learn how to use them!

An armed society is a polite society and -- inasmuch as real evil isn't going away anytime soon -- ultimately, a safer one.

An AR-15 is a prudent fashion accessory for one expecting to encounter an enemy who carries one (legally or illegally). The threat is not the weapon, but the enemy.

Those who wish to kill will kill with sticks and stones (if that's all they have). Do we really want to live in a world where sticks and stones are banned, together with every other useful tool?

Those who lack good words and ideas invariably employ evil ones -- and frequently resort to perpetrating unjustified violence with the "best" of tools and the "worst" of intentions. It does no good for the rest of us to go unarmed.

I would be (and feel) immeasurably safer locked in a room with gun-toting, bible-thumping Christians than I would free to roam on any public street with savages ("educated" in our inner-city schools) who have nothing but their bare hands.

But which are we more likely to encounter in America today?

2 comments:

  1. Well said, brother! Thanks and good to hear your wisdom again.

    Roy

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  2. Well said Will!
    Obviously: guns, knives, swords, axes, bayonets, clubs, stones, slingshots, lead pipes, poisons, atomic bombs and all other weapons DO NOT kill people. Only PEOPLE kill people. Being willingly unarmed in the face of armed aggression is...suicidal. Interesting note: Peter was "carrying" while he accompanied the Savior on the night of the Savior's atonement in Gethsemane.
    James Russell Uhl

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