How can we protect ourselves
from suicidal madmen?

Our National Catastrophe

There is a terrible crisis here in America; and the symptoms and symbols of it are two piles of rubble in Manhattan.

Jerry Falwell laid the blame for this tragedy on gay folks and the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging that because of their actions, God has removed His protection from this country. Many others have stated that the cause is our open society. "We have too much freedom!" they say. "We must give up some of it for the sake of security!"

Both of these views are wrong.

We were already in a crisis before September 11th -- not of too much freedom, but of far, far too little. This incident was the direct result of ignoring our traditional American values.

When this country was founded, it was common knowledge that every American was responsible for not only their own self-defense, but the defense of our new Nation as well. George Mason, one of those early patriots, asked, "Who are the Militia?" and answered himself, "They consist now of the whole people."

In the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the words "people" and "militia" are used interchangeably. We have lost more than buildings and lives by turning that responsibility over to security specialists like the police, the military, the people searching your bags at airports, and so forth. We've lost the very idea of America itself.

From ordinary people to extraordinary heroes

Fortunately, there are people who haven't forgotten this important duty, and some of them were on one of the four hijacked planes that fateful Tuesday. A few men and women fought back, unarmed, against these monsters, and gave their lives to stop them from hitting whatever their fourth target was to be. How many lives, and which national landmark or population center was saved by these brave Americans is still unknown, but every one of us owes them a great debt.

If we as a nation had not largely given up our individualist values, and still relied upon ourselves for our safety, instead of abandoning this important responsibility -- that is, if most of the Americans on all four planes had been armed, and ever ready to defend their own lives and their country (as they should have been) -- those terrorists would not have been able to execute their plan. They could have damaged the planes. They could have blown them up. But they could never have taken them over and used them to kill thousands more. Most likely, the attempt would never have been made in the first place.

We Libertarians advocated letting teachers bear arms after the Columbine massacre, but our teachers and students are still sitting ducks for any nutcase with a gun. Is this incident so bad that people will finally listen?

Will the real terrorist please stand up?

Then came George Bush with a mostly well-reasoned speech which nevertheless included an evil (or nutty, if you're inclined to kindness) plan to create yet another Gestapo-like police agency with the properly Orwellian name "Department of Homeland Security." (As if the DEA, CIA, NSA, IRS, and BATF weren't already far more than enough!)

The fanatics who did this made me as mad as hell. They made me cry for days on end. But they were unable to achieve their objective of terrifying me. It took George Bush to do that.

This horror should have been a wakeup call for us to return to our heritage of freedom. It has prompted another step down the road to totaliarianism instead, as most of us huddle terrified under our blankets and beg to be protected.

To whomever is reading this, I say: Don't let this happen! The bigger and more powerful our government gets, the harder it will be to reclaim our birthright of liberty. Realize that the responsibility for your security rests not with the police, the CIA, the Marines, President Bush, or his new boondoggle of an agency which will serve to steal even more of your money and your freedom. The safety of your life, your family, your home and your country are too important to leave in anyone else's hands but yours!

Your right to be stupid

Lest I be misunderstood, let me now state that I am not talking about making the bearing of arms at all times and places mandatory for all Americans. The Swiss do this, and while it certainly is a better idea than our current policy of trying to disarm everybody (except for government agents, of course), it's still contrary to the principles our country stands for.

Some may believe that the protection of George Bush is adequate. Some, like Mr. Falwell, think God should protect them. I say that God protects those who protect themselves, but no one has to agree with me.

Although every person in America can be considered a member of the militia, keeping and bearing arms should be a duty akin to voting. Saying that no one should be denied the right to vote is a far cry from saying that we should force everyone to vote. Anyone who wishes to be unarmed, or to not defend either themselves or their country, should be able to refuse. This may be stupid, but so is not voting.

Most Importantly

What is supremely important is that we stand against both terrorists and those power hungry elements in our own government who will use terrorism as an excuse to increase their power and deprive us of even more of our rights. We must demand the return of all the freedoms we have lost and carry our uniquely American message of personal responsibility, liberty, and individualism to the entire world.

All of the many evils throughout history -- from religious persecution, to Nazism, to communism, to racism, to homophobia, to terrorism -- are made possible by people thinking of one another as members of groups, rather than as individuals with individual rights. This is the idea, the vision, we must not lose, whatever else happens.

I firmly believe that returning to the spirit of the Second Amendment and again allowing all Americans to be armed at all times will make us far safer; not only from terrorists, but from criminals of all types. However, if I am wrong and more freedom does make us more vulnerable, as some believe, I will still advocate freedom -- because I'd far rather die free than live as a slave.

Scott Williams is an artist and long time Libertarian activist living in northwest Denver. Thank you for letting us reprint your essay, Scott! -- Stanley for Senate