A Few Honest Men in America

“What can one man do? Even if he has a gun, how can one man stop the government with its tanks and jets?”

You’ve heard the false dilemma if you’ve been around the liberty movement for more than a few weeks.  Let me remind you what one man can do.  Look at what a few men have done many times in our history.  Honest men and women are essential!  You and I are here to demand moral behavior when the government fails.  Our government fails much more often than you think.

True, there was only one Lexington and Concord in the American Revolution. We won’t see that again. We forget there was also the battle of Gonzales in the Texas revolt. Events like those are few and far between. Let me remind you of the other times honest men saved society when the government fled in fear or political cowardice.

Were you ever taught about the battle of Athens, Tennessee? Returning WW II veterans faced the corrupt political machine that ran McMinn County. The returning veterans ran a slate of candidates and promised honest government. That sounded great, but on Election Day, the local deputies shot minority voters and stole the ballot boxes. The Vets took them back and forced an honest election. The corrupt politicians fled the county.

Do you remember how hurricanes Katrina and Andrew overwhelmed law enforcement?  Neighbors stood up to  help neighbor.  We shared what we had and helped keep our neighborhoods safe.  Sometimes that meant giving a stranger bottle of water and sending him on his way.  The same thing happened after the Northridge earthquake.

There were riots in South Central Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict. Korean shopkeepers closed their streets for days and kept their businesses from being looted and burned.  The shopkeepers saved lives while the police stayed away.

You may have forgotten about, or were never taught about, the hundred or so race riots we had across the US since the civil war.  The homes of black men and women were burned by angry mobs.  Thousands of black men and women were killed.  Too many were unarmed and defenseless.

Lynching by racial supremacists killed almost 5 thousand Americans, and more than a thousand of the victims were whites who supported integration and racial equality.   The government looked the other way.. or attended the events as participants wearing white sheets.  Yes, law and order in the United States looked the other way thousands and thousands of times.  These United States are not bad, but we are not perfect.

We like to think that the civil rights struggle after world war two was politically non-violent.  That is rewriting our history as we want it to be, not as it was. A number of civil rights advocates adopted practical non-violence. They were non-violent until fired upon. Many civil rights marches were protected by both the watchful eye of news cameras.. and by a few armed black veterans walking along the edge of the crowd. In those days, there were no news cameras keeping watch at night. The armed veterans were essential to keep the peace when the government wouldn’t.  Those honest men changed the moral code of America.

Our country has not changed that much.  There are lawless street corners in every city today.  There are also honest men in every community.

I think of those brave veterans who once kept the peace.  I think of today’s veterans when I read today’s news.   We live in crazy times where the government ignores any inconvenient law.  When the politicians get caught, they twist the truth to fit a political narrative.  I wish that were unusual, but looking back at our history, that isn’t unusual at all.

What about today? It has always been easy to imagine that we might be called to our local church to help the unfortunate after a disaster.  The situation has changed only slightly.  Today we might have to stand in front of our local border patrol office or our local synagogue to protect them.

Like I said, these are crazy days.

That is why honest men and women matter, and always have.  We are the strength and moral backbone of these United States even as our government crumbles.  Our actions make a difference when we defend the few or the defenseless.  Said another way, self-defense protects the minority from tyranny.  Some things have not changed since David chose to stand there with five smooth stones. Stand straight and strong.

~_~_

Rob