[ExI] Upon pondering your freedoms

[Damien Broderick]

At 04:55 PM 7/11/2008 -0700, Spike wrote:

>In my mind it is clear enough that the founders wanted the citizenry to be
>armed to resist any government that wished to take away the rights listed in
>the first ten amendments.

Yes, that seems clear. Back then, it might have been possible. Today 
it would be suicide (vide the Branch Davidians, who didn't even *use* 
their stocks of weapons as I recall; if they had, *none* of them 
would have survived).

>  They wanted the citizenry to be able to fight invaders until a 
> regular army arrived.

Indeed, and hence the call for air passengers to be armed if they 
choose, let's say. But there are costs with all such choices. Tom 
Disch, the very great sf writer who recently shot himself to death 
(his choice; I'm sad, but understand his motives) wrote a barbed poem 
about being the invaders as part of the regular army and then coming home:

"A First Lesson in Geography

There is a land so far away
You cannot get there in a day.
But if at last you happen to,
Don't flinch if someone shoots at you.

He is your friend, and that's his way
Of asking if you want to stay.
When you've been there for one whole year,
You can come home and shoot somebody here."

Damien Broderick