We Said Goodbye to the Second Amendment Years Ago!

As we see it right now, we have absolutely no checks and balances for the military and police powers in the United States. I don't care if every citizen owned 5 handguns and 10 rifles, they would be irrelevant against tanks, helicopters, artillery, and the technology to deploy them. My guess would be that since the Civil War, the powers gained by the federal government grew by leaps and bounds, and all but eliminated any opportunity for the citizens to rise against a tyranical government again.

Think about the intent and the verbiage of the Second Amendment, and tell me if it is not already lost! "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The entire purpose of this amendment is to insure the freedom of the State. That the people would always have the means, through a militia, to rise up against tyranny, was the assurance of the Second Amendment. This assurance is lost.

"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." ---James Madison,The Federalist Papers, No. 46.

"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man gainst his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." ---Tenche Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.

"[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." ---Richard Henry Lee, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788.

Yes we still retain the right to bear arms, however the intent of the founders is, and has been for a very long time, lost. We already have a lame duck Second Amendment, and it will never revive in this nation. I am not allowed to own an M-1 Abram Tank in my yard. I will never have access to a 155 Howitzer for my personal ownership. There is not even an organized Militia out of the pocket of the State or Federal government that has access to these types of weapons! The faith of the people have no choice today but to rest in the hope that a branch of the military will revolt in the event of overwhelming tyranny.

Will this ever happen? Can we trust the military leadership to act on behalf of the people if the future should ever get so dire? The founding fathers did not seem to think so. As a matter of fact, that is precisely why the Second Amendment was insisted on.

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. the supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States.” Noah Webster

“Keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics - that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe” James Madison

“A standing army is one of the greatest mischief that can possibly happen” James Madison

The military pay is always being raised, the benefits are always increasing. Many accept these issues as being long overdue. The goal is to keep military members enlisted so that the military can continue it's campaigns. It is the anger by the American people, and the frustration of the military members who are tired of these types of conflicts that cause the need to ratify our benefits and give us a "pay raise." In other words, pay us off to continue to serve. For a military to be loyal to the side of the government that employs them, THEY MUST BECOME HEROES in the eyes of the people AND BE PAID LIKE THEM!! A military can be sold a shaky and weakly grounded ideal so long as their pockets are full and families are secure!

Even in the case of the protection of the citizen vs the exclusive job of the police for protection, we run into this danger.

The call by people like Rosie O'Donnell and Michael Moore continue us on the slippery slope of taking personal protection out of the hand of the individual, and putting it into the hand of the state. But here, the same methods and rules apply. The police are being lifted on a pedestal. The government finds more and more excuses to give benefits, new equipment, and higher pay to it's civil servants. This danger was foreseen by our founders, and I believe they would be appalled if they were here to witness where the rights of the individual have gone. So what do we do with the Second Amendment? Do we side with Rosie O'Donnell or Charlton Heston? Are the arguments for the Second Amendment enough to outweigh those against it, which are grounded in the safety of children and the people?

Actually, I think I have shown two facts, and a grave situation. 1. The government cannot be relied upon to do its job. The wisdom of the founders were taken from much knowledge of history and much wisdom in the tendencies of mankind. Thomas Paine said it best:

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." Thomas Paine

2. We have already lost the Second Amendment. I see no light at the end of the tunnel. We cannot stand against tyranny in this nation. We cannot protect ourselves. Even the laws of self defense are being weakened so that our strength lie in the hands of the police force. Military and Police officials are being bought off. We are becoming a government FOR the people only, not BY the people. There is a profound reason the Second Amendment was SECOND!! It was one of the biggest necessities to protect the First, and every successive amendment! We as a nation need to wake up. We need to be cautious and suspicious of every attempt to declare heroism on the part of the military or police. We need to be conscious of every law and judgment that punishes the act of self defense. We need to be wary of both Rosie O'Donnell and the NRA. Neither have the proper understanding of why we need the Second Amendment. I have heard nothing but inadequate answers from the gun rights lobby. They spend all their time on personal protection issues and hunter rights. That is only going to lose the fight for the second most important amendment in the Constitution. Our only option to crawl back into what America was, is to resurrect the arguments of the founders, and expose the evil of the Right Wing (heroism, pay offs, "military industrial complex") and the Left Wing (trust in the government leading to tyranny, loss of self defense rights, censorship).