JACK'S BLOG
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2/6/2013 7 Comments Why do some people believe that guns can keep us safe? That ordinary citizens need superior firepower?AmericaHISTORY IS FULL of examples of people struggling to solve the same problems that we face today. Some of their efforts were successful, some not. It's unfortunate that history is so poorly taught that most are unaware of valuable insights that might help us better react to the issues that confound us today. Take, for example, the right to bear arms. I cringe whenever I hear someone declare that it's time for a national debate on the Second Amendment. Seriously? We've been debating the Second Amendment ever since the founding of the United States, and there is ample evidence to show us how we can best employ our right to bear arms to promote peace and safety. One of the great adventures of all times provides some insight, the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Expedition diaries recount an extraordinary trek across the undiscovered expanse of the North American continent from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. In many cases, Lewis and Clark and their men were the first new Americans that native Americans ever met. Although the natives had a long history of xenophobia and tribal warfare to protect their claims to territory and resources, the Expedition journeyed among them without losing one person, an amazing achievement. Like most Americans, I was exposed as a schoolchild to a rough outline of the expedition and its historical significance; however, I did not learn more of it except through my own efforts. I was greatly assisted in this by reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. Unfortunately, the book itself appears to be out of print but still may be found in used bookstores and on library shelves. Studying the expedition diaries is a daunting task. If you are interested, you can obtain a copy free-of-charge from various sources on the Internet. Also, a Summary and Study Guide for Undaunted Courage is available from Amazon. Like much of history, the real story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition is shrouded in the mists of controversy and propaganda. For example, many argue that it blazed the trail for pioneers who stole the land from its rightful heirs. Those on the other side of the ideological divide find arguments to defend the settling of the continent by a new breed of Americans. Although it is highly unlikely (and that's putting it mildly) that the land will revert to the heirs of its original inhabitants, people seem to enjoy investing boundless energies into the continuing debate. Like most students of history, I was taught that Lewis and Clark successfully completed their mission without losing a single member of their expedition by virtue of the diplomatic skills of the leaders and their native guide, Sacajawea. However, no rational analysis could support any such conclusion. When in all of history has anyone or any group so confounded potential enemies with only their words? Lewis and Clark had to convince potential enemies that their firepower was sufficient to withstand any attack. Of course, they carried a variety of firearms on their journey. They needed to hunt. The men needed thousands of calories of wild game every day. Such meat is extremely lean, and many pounds are needed to provide the energy equivalent of a much smaller cut of beef. Unfortunately, the weapons they carried were not sufficient to withstand a determined attack. Lacking modern, cartridge-fed, repeating rifles, their small force could be overwhelmed in minutes by a mass attack. Rather than defend themselves in combat, Meriwether Lewis contrived a ruse which seems to have dissuaded the natives from even attempting to attack. The ruse employed by the Expedition centered on an unusual weapon, a Girandoni air rifle. Yes, an air rifle, such as a BB gun or pellet rifle. It shot a large projectile (.42 inch caliber) with sufficient force to drill through a one inch pine board at 100 yards. A compressed air reservoir in the weapon's stock could power almost 50 rounds without recharging (pumping it up with compressed air). A tubular chamber held twenty-two balls that could be discharged in less than thirty seconds. Reloading took a few seconds more, and another twenty-two rounds could be shot, again, in less than thirty seconds. Thus, if every member of the Expedition of thirty-eight men was armed with a Girandoni air rifle, they could fire almost 1,700 rounds with deadly accuracy in one minute. Meriwether's strategy was to demonstrate this firepower to induce “shock and awe” in the natives. Upon meeting a native tribe for the first time, the Expedition members dressed in their best uniforms, uncased their flags, and approached the council playing drums and fifes. In addition to presenting the natives with gifts to solicit their friendship, Lewis conducted demonstrations of his air rifle. Inasmuch as the barrel of the weapon was rifled (that is, it had grooves to spin the projectile thus insuring the stability of its flight), he could fire all twenty rounds with deadly accuracy. The natives must have been suitably impressed. Expedition diaries record the wonderment expressed by the natives at every demonstration. The Expedition members never allowed anyone outside their small group to know that they only carried one Girandoni air rifle. The story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition is but one that clearly demonstrates how just the threat of superior firepower can help promote peace and safety in our homes, our community, and our nation. Its lessons have been reaffirmed repeatedly over the decades that followed. For example, the Japanese weren't dissuaded from invading America following their successful attack on Pearl Harbor by our armed forces. Not the Army. We had none. Not the Navy. It was lying on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Not any militia. No, they feared America's ordinary citizens armed with weapons comparable to those that their soldiers carried. They were turned away by their fear of our armed citizenry or, as they said it, “a gun behind every blade of grass”.
Potential tyrants balk at the threat of armed citizens. Every socialist leader including Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, and others, delayed their assault on their own citizens until they first disarmed them. Death tolls rose by millions, second only in all of history to death by disease. Arguments that such a thing couldn't happen in America are echoes of the same statement heard in homes and meeting halls of Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, and China as well as every other socialist state that ever hosted a holocaust. Ultimately, these mass murders could have been prevented not only by weapons but also the fear of them. Similarly, criminals may be dissuaded from victimizing us without ever firing a shot. The threat that victims may be carrying weapons, even though they are not, has been proven to deter crime. Jurisdictions that responsibly issue concealed-carry permits enjoy far lower rates of crimes than those that don't. Read the story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition for yourself. Read the testimony of Japanese warlords who cowered before the threat of free American citizens bearing arms. Read the stories of holocausts. Read the statistics on crime in America as compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not the inflated propaganda of organizations seeking to ban guns. Then ask yourself, why would anyone want to deny us the right to protect ourselves?
7 Comments
2/6/2013 02:44:21 pm
This type of well thought out information needs to make it's way up to the people of this nation. We are not going to stop mass murder with limiting our abilities to own powerful guns. Rather, we will be inviting those who have them to take over the USA. Moreover, imagine if all we had were revolvers with three chambers. Can anyone question why China would not just invade us and take over the world.. I can't.
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Jack Durish
2/6/2013 02:59:20 pm
Don't allow phantoms from abroad to distract you from threats that may be closer than you think
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2/7/2013 12:31:08 am
I can always depend on you to dig deep and come up the historic information needed to prove a point, and the right to bear arms is a point that we all need to make. Government wants to take away the guns of good, honest, God-fearing citizens. Government cannot tell me how it will take all of the guns away from the bad guys.
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Jack Durish
2/7/2013 01:55:45 am
Those who support the abolition of the 2nd Amendment or severe infringement on the right to bear arms suffer from the misconception that those rights are granted by government. It is doubtful that they will be moved to change their minds.
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Bill Husztek
2/7/2013 09:36:43 am
Well written Jack.
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Jack Durish
2/7/2013 11:02:29 am
The popular conception of drones these days may make us forget the earlier meaning of that word. Somehow "White House Drones" has another meaning that I prefer
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7/18/2015 01:20:55 am
Very interesting topic and i just want to say about it this type of well thought out information needs to make it's way up to the people of this nation. We are not going to stop mass murder with limiting our abilities to own powerful guns. Rather, we will be inviting those who have them to take over the USA.
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