The Right to Bare Arms

Growing up, I never felt strongly about the Second Amendment. We lived in suburbia, my dad kept a baseball bat under his bed, and his childhood BB gun was enough to scare off bothersome animals around the yard.

Now, I think it's one of our most important rights. Our forefathers were worried about an oppressive government, so what were the first rights they chose to establish? The freedom of thought and the ability to defend yourself. In the atomic age, it is not likely that we will be invaded. After all, we're surrounded by Canada, Mexico, and about a million square miles of ocean.

The most likely scenario that threatens national security is our own government. Thomas Jefferson said, "The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." The Second Amendment isn't about hunting or home defense. I doubt the forefathers thought those rights would be restricted. They were worried about their own future government disarming citizens. After all, that's how Hitler and Stalin were able to turn their countries into police states.

Many socialized countries are setting themselves up for future dictatorships as we speak. The only thing missing is an economic catalyst on the scale of the Great Depression to turn a socialized state into a totalitarian state. Unfortunately, we're currently gravitating towards the worst recession in decades. We've spent more money than we have, just like in the "Roaring 20s." What are we doing to fix it? We're not cutting spending, we're bailing out failing businesses and incurring more debt. If our credit score was calculated at a national level, we wouldn't be able to buy a car, much less the car industry.

Stay out of debt, store food, be honest, and practice your marksmanship.

"We must train and classify the whole of our male citizens, and make military instruction a regular part of collegiate education. We can never be safe till this is done." -Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1813.