The destruction of the WTC last week was the greatest tragedy in the history of the Western hemisphere. It may be the be the greatest man-made tragedy in the history of the world, dwarfing the bombings of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Dresden and the sacks of Rome and Constantinople. Unfortunately, it was also the most successful military action of all time.
Hot air-filled politicians and moronic teleprompter-reading TV pundits are now beating the war drums. Their propaganda and thoughtless blather may start an almost unimaginable round of attack, counter attack, and escalation that could eventually lead to nuclear and biological Armageddon. When the time comes, it will be interesting to see how many members of these two odious groups will be in the first wave of assault troops parachuting into Afghanistan.
Instead let me make a simple suggestion that may have eliminated the murderous hijackings in the first place.
The second amendment to the US Constitution did not give, it only recognized the preexisting and inalienable right of a free people to keep and bear arms. George Washington of late memory said in his first address to Congress "no man should scruple or hesitate for a moment to use arms in defense." On Tuesday the federal government – against reason, law and history – actively disarmed every innocent citizen before they boarded the four doomed planes.
No one alive in 1970 could imagine a planeload of feminized and unarmed Americans sitting quietly by while 3-5 box-cutter wielding highjackers heads turned their plane into third world cruise missiles. Instead any of the handful of then legally armed Americans on a typical plane would have dispatched their tormentors quickly. These ordinary Americans may or may not have saved their plane, but surely they would have saved the World Trade Center and its thousands of innocent victims.
For thirty years closet totalitarians like Senator Hilary Clinton and Senator Chuckie Schumer have worked tirelessly to disarm the US population. Well-financed and unending propaganda has convinced many sensitive moderns that abandonment of any right to personal self-defense is the natural state of man.
Both of our NY Senators travel in armored cars with multiple well-armed guards ready to protect them. Look at what they do and not what they say. What is it that they know about their own personal safety that they do not profess in public and what special privilege are these worthies unwilling to share with ordinary citizens?
What is to be done? I propose the following easy and wholly voluntary experiment. Airlines should be allowed to offer two separate types of flights-"Second Amendment Right-to-Carry Flights" and "Weapons-Free Flights".
"Right-to-Carry" flights would not require carry on baggage inspection or intrusive and clumsy metal detectors at the gate. Citizens using these flights could drive to the airport swiftly embark and fly off.
Money thus saved would pay for the delay, sophisticated equipment, personnel and extra holding rooms needed to do full body searches on everyone flying on the "Weapons-Free Flights". This money would also pay for special government certificates issued to each of these passengers stating that they are, in fact, on a weapons-free flight.
Citizens can freely choose their flight of choice.
True to form the bureaucrats are already suggesting even more draconian schemes to disarm free Americans. I heard the improbably named Joseph Lawless, Public Safety Director of the Boston MPA, say that he wants to outlaw even plastic knives in the airport commissaries. Is this jackass for real or did I accidentally surf into some sick Comedy Central skit?
Instead we should return to our roots and allow any of our 280 million fellow Americans who wish to protect themselves to exercise their constitutional right do so. I would feel safer and somehow I feel most of the victims of the WTC tragedy would agree.
Requiescat in pace.
September 22, 2001
