For those that have either no interest or no knowledge of the impending decision that will presumably be handed down from the high court of the land today, I'm sure that this morning holds no personal or emotional significance... though I would contend that the significance of today is as far reaching as is imaginable in the scope of Americans and our liberty. For those that are, like me, attempting to relax and rely on the “better judgment” of those individuals that have been entrusted to dissect our Bill of Rights concerning the second amendment, however, this morning remains one that has many of us pouring a second cup of coffee while our first is still full and ice cold, lighting cigarettes that burn down to the filter after just one puff, and paying perhaps a bit more attention to the idiot box than is normal, acceptable, or healthy.
The case in question this morning-- District of Columbia v. Heller-- is one that has, by and large, received only a fraction of the attention it has deserved. One could attribute this to the fact that the case-- which concerns the District of Columbia's overreaching, offensive, and wishful-thinking-of-the-worst-sort gun control legislation-- was argued nearly four months ago, forcing it into the undesirable position of having to compete for air time with what has been perhaps the nastiest primary cycle since the political schism that resulted in the Bull Moose Party. One could also attribute this to the fact that we have as a matter of public record several similar cases and Supreme Court decisions stretching across decades that seem to give a fairly reliable premonition as to what sort of mealy mouthed yet correct ruling that we can expect today.
However, I believe these two factors play a secondary role in this ruling being obscured by lapel pins and Hulk Hogan's son surprising us all with the knowledge that prison does indeed, to our collective shock and awe, suck right out loud. I believe the factor that has kept this issue comparatively far away from the majority's public eye is exactly the factor that has resulted in our nation becoming so bass-ackwards in every other facet of our values, decisions, and administration that we can't sneeze without wetting the backs of our knees. I refer to caustic, corrosive apathy-- an utter lack of concern for our own well being that grows out of an unwillingness to accept that the responsibility for determining our own destiny cannot be lifted from our own backs and shouldered upon a government, no matter how much the weaklings of our nation may wish to do so. The sort of apathy that rots deep down at the center of a person in the manner that rancid meat will swell and explode in a shower of it's own filth.
For most of us, this infectious disease of apathy is one that has become an unwelcome part of our life-- a distant and shunned family member that shows up unannounced and periodically avails himself of our couch. This detestable corruption of character is precisely what has plunged us muzzle first into the muck and mire of a welfare state that arbitrarily picks our pockets to subsidize the failure of others, and it is this same corruption that may or may not strike down the most fundamental and necessary liberty we, as Americans, possess.
No, you did not misread me, nor did I misspeak-- I say again, the right of every individual to keep and bear arms is more important than the right to free speech. Why? Because a society composed of a citizenry that is incapable of protecting itself from the tyranny of its own officials is, by unavoidable logic, unable to ensure that their speech will remain free, and, consequently, will find that “free speech” comes to mean “free” in the “comma but” fashion-- “You're free to say whatever you like(comma) but, you can't criticize the leader, you can't say anything that might offend someone...” et cetera.
I ask you, which is more important: the diamonds found on a desert island, or the rescue ship that ferries one home where one can sell those diamonds? Your riches, sitting unattended in a field, or the safe that houses those riches, guaranteeing that you may enrich your life and the life of others through them?
Friends, without the ability to defend our freedoms they will not be a part of our lives for very long, nor should we expect them to be-- even a passing glance at a history book makes this quite obvious. Yet there exists a depressingly large number of Americans whom are willing to not only acquiesce their own liberty, but the liberties of everyone else as well. Even more distressing is the fact that, while any and every opinion or belief ranging from table tapping to dowsing for water is bound to be believed by at least someone, this nauseating nonsense has managed to find its home in our Congress, our high court, and if a certain leftist candidate manages to win in November, our White House. Despite this, an unhealthy majority of our citizenry takes refuge in apathy and ignorance... just like every other issue, it's someone else's problem to fix. Because of this, it remains up to us, those that are not content to simply hand over control of our lives and liberty, to combat this ignorance and apathy at every turn, and to never, not for a moment, allow decisions such as that which we can expect today to simply fly under the radar and go unnoticed, even if it can be rather inconvenient to tear ourselves away from America's Got Talent to ensure that America's Got Freedom.
A wrecking ball can tear down a house as easily as termites, but it's the termites that leave families living in a home that's ready to collapse because they never took the time to inspect the damage. It is this danger that we find ourselves facing now on a daily basis. Though all indications and oral statements at this time seem to point to a ruling that will leave the more freedom loving of us relieved, we must face the real possibility that this ruling could go in the other direction. If it should, it's not as if police are going to show up in the next week to confiscate our weapons... but in the years that follow, all bets are off. Nations are rarely toppled by singular acts, instead it is the quintessential “being nibbled to death by ducks” that causes even the greatest societies to implode in on themselves. At this point, the nibbling has been taking place at an accelerated rate due to the ineptness of our officials and our own ineptness as a citizenry that is unwilling to fight for our freedoms and take the power back from the government that we've allowed to swell to the point of critical mass. And this morning, our highest court is in a position to do some very heavy nibbling. If this should happen, the greatest disservice we can do to ourselves is to simply shrug our shoulders and hope for the best. If this should happen, we must take it upon ourselves to not only make it known far and wide that citizens of America will not bend the knee to any tyrant or weakling that's willing to cast aside our most important right, be he a bum on the street or a gray haired statesman clothed in flowing robes. We must not be content to breath in the virus of apathy. Instead, we must speak out and not allow the parasites any more leeway, lest our house fall down around our ears because we were too lazy to get down in the dirt and inspect our foundation.
