One of the favorite dodges of hoplophobes and other anti-firearm activists throughout America is to proclaim how they are “quite liberal”… right after or before saying that all they want is “more gun control”, as if being liberal were somehow vindication for that stance, or gave that desire more weight or meaning. Unfortunately, the English language has been sufficiently bastardized over recent history that meanings of words have been forgotten, if not intentionally buried and obfuscated… But words have meanings still, and let us examine the nature of the word “liberal“:
– a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
- showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
- tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
- favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties
- favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression
- free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant
(Emphasis added.)
So how can someone who claims to “protect civil liberties” simultaneously want to strip his fellow citizens of their natural right to self-defense? How can someone who claims to be “broad-minded” simultaneously exploit and perpetuate stereotypes and outright bigotry? How can someone who claims to “not be bound by authoritarianism” simultaneously want more government control over law-abiding citizens’ lives? How can someone who claims to want the “maximum individual freedom possible” simultaneously want to deny certain freedoms (such as the freedom for someone to protect himself and his family) to his fellow citizens? How can someone claiming to be “tolerant” simultaneously try to paint anyone who disagrees with them about firearms as a “redneck”, “extremist”, “whackjob”, or worse?
The simple answer is that they cannot.
The basic truth is that someone who is honestly “liberal” cannot be against firearms, a person’s ability to own firearms, self-defense, or anything else that the hoplophobic anti-rights community so often fights against. Doing so would directly contradict the individual’s claim to being a “liberal”, rendering the individual in question ignorant, a liar, a hypocrite, or any combination of those three.
And, in some people’s case, all three definitely apply.
Most Excellent post Sir.
I’ve always wondered the same thing.
I’ve said for a long time the 2nd amendment issue is between those that want more control (liberal & conservative) and those who want to allow more liberty.
Both conservative and liberals want to take away our rights…just in different order.
Thanks for the great posts, you are a daily read for me.
Thanks, Bob! You are on my RSS reader, so you are one of my daily reads as well (and thanks for being one of the few Blogger users who syndicates his entire post).
Unfortunately, we never should have allowed the debate about the Second Amendment to be defined as “liberal/lefty against conservative/righty”. As you said, the core of the debate actually comes down to “authoritarian against libertarian”, regardless of what letter follows the debaters last names.
Calling out so-called “liberals” over their hypocritical stance on “gun control” is just another tool we have to bring the vocabulary of the debate back where it should be, and one I will certainly be using more often.
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