A Tale of Two States of Mind
July 13th, 2006 by Syd
There is no greater stain on the honor of this republic than the fact that in our nation’s capital the civil rights of American citizens are denied. A law-abiding citizen cannot even own a handgun, much less carry one, in Washington D.C. This, of course, doesn’t slow the criminals a nanosecond. Yesterday, the police chief of Washington D.C. declared a “crime emergency” after a series of wanton murders, including a popular store owner slain at closing time, a community activist killed in a park and a British citizen whose throat was slit in Georgetown during the attempted rape of his female companion. “You can’t make sense of it because it doesn’t make any sense,” Chief Ramsey said. I beg to differ, Chief. When you disarm your citizens you create a city full of easy targets for every thug and predator on the planet. It only fails to make sense when your faculty for reason is so badly damaged by your nanny-state indoctrination that you can no longer handle simple logic.
Of course, the legislators who impose this virtual slavery upon their serfs enjoy immunity from the oppressive gun laws of Washington D.C. They can carry their own guns, go around metal detectors and employ armed guards for their own personal safety, while cynically subjecting their serfs to a reign of terror. But, of course, the nanny state knows what’s good for us. The nanny state will take care of us. The nanny state is our friend.
By way of contrast, Florida’s crime rate dropped for the 14th straight year in 2005 to its lowest mark since 1971 because of tougher laws, increased financial support from the Legislature and law-abiding citizens with guns. Gov. Jeb Bush said, “Law abiding citizens that have guns for protection actually probably are part of the reason we have a lower crime rate.” (Not the most elegant prose, but it gets the point across.)
In one place, the all-knowing, all-powerful nanny state promises to protect its serfs and fails miserably. In another, the government trusts its citizens to make responsible decisions for their own safety and security and succeeds. Makes sense to me.