I am a conservative. I am a Marine. I am a proponent of the second amendment. But I supported students walking out of their schools yesterday. Not only do I support it but I was inspired by it. I believe it is exactly what our nation needs to prevent ourselves from crossing the event horizon which is the black hole of our nation’s own self destruction. The second amendment was established to prevent our nation from becoming, what for all intents and purposes, it has already become. The irony of men and women vehemently defending the second amendment when they have refused to use it for decades is almost unbearable!
We should have demanded gun control in 1990 by refusing to accept the National Defense Authorization Act which facilitated the transfer of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. This transfer was initiated to help support the “war on drugs.” That’s right, segregation didn’t work, the war on drugs didn’t work, so we had to make it a literal war on drugs by militarizing our police forces. But guess what, no one was using their second amendment rights and standing up for gun control by demanding that local law enforcement agencies not be given armored personnel carriers.
We should have demanded gun control after WWI and WWII when our nation transitioned from a non-interventionist state to an interventionist state and started demanding continual increases in the size and strength of the military. This transition produced perpetual conflicts (e.g. Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, et al.) and it opened the door for one party to be the pro-military, pro-America, pro-freedom through intervention party. Ironically the Republican party still claimed to be the conservative party even though their support of increasing the size and strength of the military (and deregulating wall street) are traditionally liberal positions.
The reason why common sense gun control is so difficult and such a controversial topic is because our nation has benefited from gun violence for decades. Please take a second to read Revelation 18 and tell me what nation you think the author is describing. Military and Law Enforcement gun violence has brought about a Pax Americana which has allowed our nation to enjoy tremendous amounts of luxury and comfort. As a good friend of mine said recently, "if the threat of deadly force is necessary to keep the peace, peace does not truly exist."
I mentor young men and women, and something I often tell them is that I truly believe it takes more courage to stand up for what you believe is right in high school than it does to do your duty in combat. In combat you’re often performing actions that you have rehearsed dozens of times in training and you’re surrounded by people you trust that have committed to giving their lives for the same cause. But in high school you’re on your own, with no training, and ridiculed by your peers for do anything out of the ordinary. I celebrate the students who walked out yesterday. You inspire me, you encourage me, and I hope you find the courage to keep fighting for what you believe is right.
