Patriots and the Government

Today, Geraldo Rivera debated the issue of gun control on Fox News. Most of what he said was factually inaccurate, based on a dislike of guns, and straight out of the liberal anti-gun playbook. He stooped to a whole new level of ignorant demagoguery when he opined, that 2nd Amendment patriots are so "deeply suspicious of their own government, that it is bitterly ironic that it is also the same people who claim a mantle of patriotism; how could you not trust your government? What's going to happen? Are black helicopters going to come and kick down your door?"

What's going to happen? Why might people be leery of their own government? A simple four-word answer: Because they know history. Let us consider:

- How popular was the American government among the American Indians as our country expanded West? Was there not this little thing called "The Trail of Tears"? What of the deliberate attempts to infect Native Americans with smallpox?

- In Buck vs Bell (1927) the US Supreme Court upheld a state statute allowing for compulsory sterilization of the unfit. In the American eugenics movement, which was the basis for the "Final Solution" employed by the Nazis, the unfit were the poor, mentally retarded, and those deemed of "immoral character." In the ruling, the Court advocated that a pure gene pool outweighed the interests of the individual. "It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes," wrote Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

- The German government in the 1930s labeled Jews, gays, gypsies, and others as non-desirables. This led the government to confiscate their property, lock these undesirables away in concentration camps, and eventually implement a Final Solution to the Jewish problem in 1942.

- The government conducted an experiment on blacks residing in Macon County, Alabama between 1932-1972 in which 600 men were recruited and informed they were being treated for "bad blood." The doctors withheld life saving medicine from these men, and they watched-- under the guise of science and the purview of the government public health service-- as these men and many of their wives and children died. This heinous behavior of the US government directly led to the 1979 Belmont Report to ensure such inhumane experiments could not occur again.

- On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard executed unarmed college students at Kent State in an attempt to disperse a peaceful protest against American involvement in Cambodia and Vietnam. 13 men and women were either wounded or killed by their government.

- In 1985, the government responded to complaints by neighbors around 6221 Osage Ave., in the Cobbs Creek area of West Philadelphia that the occupants (an organization called MOVE) were being obnoxious, that they were creating health hazards, and were illegally possessing firearms (as well as other allegations). A police stand-off ensued. To protect the lives of the police involved, a police helicopter dropped a 4 lb BOMB on the house. The resulting explosion caused the house to catch on fire, igniting a massive blaze that destroyed nearly 70 nearby houses. Eleven people, including 5 children, died.

- In 1992, the government constructed events to enable a confrontation with Randy Weaver. By the FBI's own admission, the charge against Randy Weaver had no legal merit, and yet they conducted a siege of Weaver's property, altered the ROEs to allow for the execution of anyone on the Weaver property and which was later deemed to be unconstitutional, and ultimately murdered Randy Weaver's wife and son. One of the snipers, Lon Horiuchi, was indicted for manslaughter but managed to wiggle his way out of trial thanks to the government protecting him. The government also settled out of court with Randy Weaver and his surviving daughters in their unlawful death suit.

I could provide other examples, but I think it fair to end with this final thought. Throughout history, we have seen atrocious behavior towards the people from their government, the very institution established to protect the people. In addition to the examples above, consider the following genocidal attempts made by various governments against its citizens in: Haiti, Mexico, USA, Germany, Sudan, Rwanda, Cambodia, Turkey, Soviet Union, China, Iraq, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Somalia.

There is a very scary, valid reason Ronald Reagan once said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Perhaps instead of trying to find Al Capone's vault, Geraldo should have read a history book or two?