Blacksburg

dueler88

Current politics is all about telling the story first so that one can own the political narrative. Those of us with scruples about making sure a story is factual, i.e. NOT the MSM, make the conscious decision to either remain silent and make up our own minds about issues, or we take part in measured, serious discussions about serious issues. At the risk of being labeled a political opportunist, I will now engage the discussion about the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am an NRA member, gun owner, hunter, gun-club member and have possessed an Oregon Concealed Handgun License for about 6 months. But most of you wouldn’t think it by looking at me – a respectable, quiet, peaceful, law-abiding, professional young father with a Master’s degree. For those who would label me a "gun nut," I encourage you to consider the disposition, actions and beliefs of the people that have paved the way for the peace, prosperity and security you enjoy today.

Instead of talking about the specifics of the horrific event, I would like to walk you through a little exercise in logic and existentialism to put everything in perspective.

Do you have the right to exist?

Do others have a right to deprive you of your existence, or deprive others of their existence?

Do you have the right to prevent said person from depriving you of your existence?

By what means should you be allowed to defend your right to exist?

Who is responsible for sustaining your existence?

Do you, and those around you, have free will to decide between good and evil actions?

What will deter a determined person from committing an act of pure evil?

If somebody points a gun at your face, what are your rights and responsibilities?

Is a gun good or evil?

For those of you who are having trouble with answering these questions, I’ll make some suggestions:

You are a person with free will, surrounded by others with free will, that has a right to defend yourself against anybody who would deprive you of your existence. The means you choose to defend yourself depends upon the means and determination of the person attempting to kill you. There are often no adequate measures that will deter a determined person from taking the life of another person. The determination of an evil person to commit murder is quite possibly infinite and may be beyond your ability to thwart it. You are responsible for your own health and welfare, and have the right, by any means available to you, to prevent yourself from being killed. When somebody points a gun at you, it signals their intent to kill you, and you are thus justified in any action to prevent that person from killing you. A gun is a tool and is neither good nor evil. Like any other tool, can be used for both good and evil purposes; it all depends upon the intent of the user of that tool.

The incidents in Blacksburg boil down to this: in spite of any laws or policies that can be put in place, i.e. “gun-free-zones” (in reality, “free fire zones”) or laws against murder, the essence of the human condition means evil people will always do evil things. To prevent, by either peer pressure, coercion, force or outright mandate, those with the ability to stop such evil acts, is the height of immorality and injustice.