Rebellion Against Tyranny: The Most Important Right of the People

Editorial by Alex Allen, Liberty Battles Owner & Publisher (www.libertybattles.com)

When confronted with the question as to which of our natural human rights (specifically those listed in our Bill of Rights and Constitution) is, one must analyze the question not only as a matter of personal opinion, but as a matter of philosophy. Which right is truly vital to the survival of freedom itself?

Obviously, all human rights (including those detailed in the Bill of Rights and Constitution) are equally important. We have the right to our belongings and the right to not have them searched and seized without a warrant, we have the right to a quick and speedy trial when we are convicted of a crime, and we have the right to bear arms. However, when confronted with the question as to which of these rights is the most important, most people will, without having to put much thought into their answer, reply with the 1st amendment. The 1st amendment is by far the most popular for multiple reasons: people always place connotations on the number one and consider anything at the top of a list to be the most important, the amendment encompasses several individual rights ranging from the right to free speech to the freedom of the press and even the right to peacefully protest, and most people believe that the freedom to speak out and say what they want is the most important. Clearly, this is a very popular amendment, but does its popularity suffice for its importance to the survival of freedom?

When analyzing this seemingly pointless question which, upon analysis, reveals itself to be not petty, but indeed a deep philosophical question, one must analyze the reasons for the development of these amendments, including the controversial second amendment.

Most would not consider the second amendment (the right to bear arms) to be the most important. In fact, many liberal politicians and political activists want to completely abolish this right because of the growing crime rates and shootings in America. Most of these people (and many who even support the amendment) however, do not understand the reasoning behind the placement of this amendment in our constitution. When our nation was founded, there was no question as to whether or not the people would be allowed to have guns for hunting purposes. Nearly every man during the colonial time period and the early days of America had a gun and hunted to feed their families. When this nation was founded, one couldn’t go down to the local supermarket and buy a pound of meat. If they wanted to have meat to eat, they would have to either raise livestock or go into the woods and hunt for deer, turkey, or anything else they could find. There weren’t tagging laws or bag limits during this time period. One would simply go into the woods and kill what they needed in order to feed their families. Obviously, the idea of simply having a firearm for hunting purposes was not even questioned at the time our constitution and bill of rights were written. If this is the case, why was the second amendment even considered for placement in the bill of rights?

Our founders knew the importance of fighting against tyranny. They had just fought an eight year war over freedom and tyrannical taxes. Therefore, they knew that in order to rebel against a tyrannical government, the people must be armed. Had our founders not had access to firearms, the United States of America would most likely have never existed.

There have been many cases in history in which the right of the people to bear arms has been taken away simply because of the fact that the tyrannical leaders didn’t want a rebellion to occur. Adolf Hitler is quoted as saying, “”The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country.” Even Hitler knew that if he wanted to take over Germany, he wouldn’t be able to allow the people to own firearms.

So why then, is the second amendment truly the most important? Obviously it is vital to the survival of freedom for the simple fact that it protects all other rights. If we didn’t have the right to own firearms, we wouldn’t have the ability to stand up against a tyrannical government if anyone like Hitler were to come to power and try to take our first, third, fourth, fifth, and all the other amendments away.

The first amendment is very important because it encompasses the rights of the people to peacefully protest and to speak their minds and because it gives journalists the right to gather and present information to the public without interference from the government, the fourth is important because it forbids police, military, and government officials from improperly searching and seizing your possessions, and the tenth is important because it encompases states’ rights and rights not directly defined by the constitution. However, if it weren’t for the second amendment, none of these others would matter.