There are two founding principles for this document. One, I am an American. Two, I am of Christian faith. I will not defend my positions on either of these but I will explain why the two are vital to my belief about the right of self preservation.
Being an American, I am a full faith believer in the Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence, In those documents there are specifics written to the freedom of it's citizens that no other country shares to such a degree. Our Bill of Rights is such the example for this statement. In no other country is the individual raised above all else, yet when laws are enacted they are considered for the whole and the individual. One's individual right may not trample on the individual right of another, thereby the rule of law is not democratic in form.
Rights of the individual according to the Constitution are bestowed upon us from a higher power, not given by man himself. To this end, corruptible man shall not be allowed governance over God given individual rights of his fellow man. The founding father's knew corruption from the then power over them, the British crown, and deemed themselves free from man's corruptible whip.
These Rights brought forth by our founding Fathers came from one source, the teachings of the Holy Bible. Regardless of your own belief system, you must recognize the individualism written hence therein. Salvation according to the Bible is an individual action, no man may take your place, nor give you Salvation by proxy. Salvation is an individual achievement between God and the individual. The gift of Salvation is also not earned. One may not "DO" anything to earn this favor, it is given freely by God to those that ask for it wholeheartedly. Our Founding Fathers knew this well and constructed our government accoridingly. This pointed out our Right to free will. No one may force an individual to become a certain religion, political affiliate, etc. Herein lies the basis of our Right to self preservation.
An individuals Right to not be a victim of any crime far out weighs the criminals free will to act in a violent manner. The violent act violates one's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In other countries and sadly within our own there has risen the feeling that even the criminal is the victim. So much so it has courts that no longer dispense justice for the crime committed, they hand down soft words and mediocre sentences. Victims have now been placed upon the stand to testify to their innocence and every step of their actions involving the perpetrator and how they became involved.
Humans who find themselves victims or targets of violent crime are reactionary to the act perpetuated. In no other situation of being a reactionary is the victim prosecuted for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How are we to combat this ludicrous action of our current Governing body? When in the course of investigation our Governing body must recognize that we are truly innocent until proven guilty, though when has the victim been placed up on charges? We must return to moral obligation in order for Justice once again to prevail. As the criminal becomes more and more the victim we now turn what was once right and true on it's head and create a reversal of what has been truth for thousands of years. The criminal has been placed in the role of the victim by easily corruptible council and politicians in order to gain favor and votes later down the road. Leaving the criminal in a state of poverty and dependency for the rest of his life. Society's greed for power and money are to blame for our rate of criminal activity across our nation.
One example of predator and prey, the porcupine. for the most part a docile creature that does not prey on other animals. Yet has the means to protect itself from predators. Though the porcupine does lose it's battle from time to time, it does have the tools to defend it's life to the best of it's ability. Some may argue that the porcupine is born with it's defensive tools, tell me, what defensive tool was a human born with? As to using their spines for evil, have you ever seen a law abiding citizen use their defensive tool for evil? If a human can be given a tool to adequately defend their life; is it not worth it? Has the human race predicated itself to perpetual victimization? Dare I say almost craving helplessness.
As we see in and through the Constitution and Scripture there is a revolving theme of taking care of ones self mentally, emotionally and physically. To this end, would not the entirety of the subject be self preservation? Just as we must depend upon the Lord for Salvation we must also look to like minded individuals for assistance in emotional and physical health. needless to say, we are bound within ourselves to not become victims of violent crime.
The subject of the defensive tool and our choice is just that, our own to choose. Whether it be using our mind and body as in martial arts, or our minds and a more tangible items. It should not matter as long as the correct frame of mind both from student and teacher is being utilized. Our education of self preservation should not be with malicious intent, but one must understand that violent force must be met with an equal amount of moral violence. In that what we react with is enough to steer the predator away from their current line of action.
Yet the question still remains, which form of self preservation is one to deem moral? This is not a question of the tool but our state of mind during such encounters. A moral individual that utilizes a firearm for self defense will not deploy their tool in an argument at the market over an ear of corn. Though employing their firearm under possible loss of life or limb is even so Biblical in nature. Having many tools is the key to successful self defense. Knowing a martial art, having communication skills, and being armed with a tangible defensive tool will add to our chances of a successful encounter if on so ensues. Of course the common sense approach to avoidance is to not be in places we know to be less than hospitable at any time of day.
Avoidance is most definitely key in self preservation. Know where you can go safely at what times and which you must stay away from. Acquaintances are another area we must be vigilant. We must evaluate who we associate with in order to avoid potential violent encounters. We all have that inner voice of conscience tugging us in a more appropriate direction. The best form of defense is to not be where violence will and has occured in the past. Understandably so there are times where this is, for all practicality, not avoidable. One must be on alert and their head in constant motion taking in and processing all they can to ascertain the situation around them.
Situational awareness is another area our current world is completely oblivious to. We hear a tingle in our ear as to how safe a specific area is. This gives false security, which being proven time and time again is wrong. Examples are: Trolley square, Salt Lake City, UT 2007. Virginia Tech, Blackburg, VA 2007 FedEx facility Kennesaw, GA 2014, Movie theater Aurora CO 2012, and so many more. These locations were deemed safe by complaicency on the part of the individual and managements failure to recognize potential danger regarless of rules or regulations in place. With just one individual it became something more heinous. Safety lies in being aware, not in pretending violence can not happen. Keeping in a constant state of conscious situational awareness will assist in keeping us out of harms way, or at the very least one step ahead of the rest of the crowd. Inasmuch, this awareness may allow us to assist in guiding others to safety rather than watching many become victims of violence.
Which leads us to Law Enforcement. As a civillian, neither are we trained nor given the certain rules of engagement. Many of us have never taken the Officer's oath, therefore are not legally obligated to get involved. Our responsibility in a violent encounter is to get away. Of course taking loved ones, friends and those around us should be a priority when trying to escape a violent encounter. Charging into the fray to disarm or end a violent confrontation is not necessary to this goal, this is the purpose of Law Enforcement. There are too many caviats to this type of situation to explain each argument that may arise during the course of this writing. I as well as others recognize the need for civillians ready to move toward the sound of trouble in the event of violence. If one has been so trained as to understand the roles of each involved may be of assistance to Law Enforcement when they do arrive on scene. Some may only hinder and cause more confusion or injury if proper training is not applied. To call an escaping citizen a coward, knowing they have the tools to combat violence, I will not do. To call a citizen a fool for having the tools to engage the immoral violence of action and engage the threat, again, I will not do. Who are we to judge what one's course of action will be when violence is brought upon us. Many heroes have lead groups from violence while others have given their life covering the escape of those set to flee.
Our country is not a democracy where mob rules. Neither is it socialistic or communistic where class is divided into haves and have nots. We shed the Monarchy centuries ago, understanding that God rules over us, not corruptible man. We are a Constitutional Republic, formed to keep the selfishness of man at bay to the best of our ability. But we have lost sight of the true meaning of our government when daily we hear from media outlets that "our democracy this," and "our democracy that." Until we recognize that our government should fit inside the Constitution and not the reverse we shall be slaves to a fiat democracy run by media and corrupt officials. The truth of our government being a Republic aids all individuals in creating their own utopia, they must put in what they want out, but success is within everyone's grasp. Even those who feel ostracized due to race, creed, gender or social status are wholly protected under our Constitution. Due to our dependence on media of all types and the over socialization of our nation, we find ourselves wanting laws brought forth by feeling rather than logic. Without thought or provocation to consequenses we have embolden citizens to turn against their one true freedom, less governance. Until we understand that the government our founding fathers bled to bring into existence was to keep each citizen free, we will never be truly free again.
-Kay
