There were several theories behind the Second Amendment. One is that the people should have the ultimate power to resort to arms if necessary, to actually overthrow the government. This has been a theory that has threaded through many of the discussions concerning this most important power for the people. It is tacit confirmation of Mao Ze-Dong’s observation almost two centuries later that political power comes from the point of a gun. If the people are truly the source of power for the government, they should be permitted unlimited arms. If that were the only reason for the amendment, it would be sufficient to justify it. I believe that there is far more.Another reason is for the simple act of self defense.
Opponents argue that is what the police are for. But the police aren’t much help from five miles away when someone’s standing there with a gun aimed at your chest. Your own weapon is a much more effective equalizer. And as important as this second consideration is, I think there is an even more important point that needs complete exploration and that has implications for our current international morass.
The Founding Fathers had just experienced the American War for Independence where a ragtag group of colonists had organized to defeat the greatest military power in the world. The Continental Army had coalesced out of disparate elements throughout the colonies and wore the British down into frustration even though their victories were very few. By the time of the Constitutional Convention, there was effectively no standing army remaining and there is ample evidence that they were very suspicious of a standing army. With this in mind, let’s examine the Second Amendment more closely and the sections on defense in the main body of the Constitution.
Article II, Section 2 of The Constitution states, “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States… Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;…” The Second Amendment states, “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.” From these three things and the history of the time we can infer many things.
First, it’s obvious that they envisioned two different sources for the defense of the new nation, the forces of the federal government and the militia. Neither was completely defined which lends itself to congressional action. With regard to ‘the militia’, the examples from colonial days would likely be the best gauges.
The skirmish at Concord is widely credited with being the beginning of our War for Independence. What is largelyf orgotten is that the British soldiers had been dispatched to confiscate a private arsenal by Gen. Thomas Gage the British commander in Boston. Gage knew the danger that private weapons posed to an increasingly unpopular government. But as the British approached, armed colonists materialized, as if out of nowhere, confounding the British regulars who wound up retreating, accompanied by sniper fire the entire way. As the war unfolded, the British could not suppress the insurrection even with the Hessian mercenaries they hired.
The conclusions were obvious to be drawn by anyone, as I submit they were likely drawn by The Founding Fathers. They wanted a large part of the defense of the infant nation to be performed by its citizens, in the form of militias, who had a stake in its survival and future. They had seen the failure of agents of an empire. The spirit of those defending a homeland could defeat invaders, no matter how strong. They wanted to utilize it.
Over the last forty years, The United States of America has found the truth of this in Viet-Nam and, now we are finding it out in our imperialistic war in the Middle East. The persistence of the Vietnamese for their own rule, eventually defeated us. The last American war that was perceived as threat to us by the general public was World War II. During that conflict, numerous United States senators and representatives resigned their offices to enter the military. During Viet-Nam, not one did. There was just no widespread perception that Viet-Nam posed a credible threat to this nation. Today, with call-ups of reserves and National Guard units for duty in or support of Iraq, the incidence of awls is as high as 1/3. The all-important citizen-soldier rarely, if ever, is willing to defend an empire. He is willing to defend his homeland from invaders. Mercenaries and conscripts defend an empire but not citizen-soldiers. No matter what happens, our Iraq incursion will be a failure. Which leaves us…where?
We have a military and federal government that need to be reined in. They are engaged in an imperialism that was never intended. These things go hand in hand. We couldn’t have one without the other.
I propose the reduction of our federal armies to skeleton crews of officers consisting of appointees by the states. They would all be Major (Two Star) Generals. From them, the President would select candidates for the upper ranks with the approval of the Congress. Their sole function would be to act as inspectors and coordinators to ensure that the militias, both private and state, perform to the discipline prescribed by Congress, commensurate with The Constitution. The service academies would be abolished and the training of officers would devolve to the states.
The People would defend this nation just as we are supposed to be the authority for its government. It would be a huge step toward restoring the federal concept that lies at the heart of The Constitution. It would end imperialism. Power would be in the hands of the states and people and, just perhaps, we may preserve this republic which, otherwise, I fear, will be swept into the dustbin of history.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”