HoltesThoughts: The Palladium of Liberty

The founders put the second amendment into the constitution to protect the right of the country and the communities in our country to defend ourselves from threats, and thus to participate in our own government. Indeed they saw the militia as;

“The Palladium of liberty.” [Armed in America]

They saw that maintaining a well regulated militia required:

“habitual exercise” in military training and “manly discipline”

Which they saw as the:

“bulwark of the nation” [ibid page 102]

Only so long as they are correctly:

“Armed and Disciplined”

John Hamilton, for instance, saw the Militia as the ideal alternative to:

“that potion of idleness and corruptor of morals, a standing army”

Learning, practicing and cultivating Civic Virtue

For Democratic Republicans in our nation, the Second amendment was about learning exercising and protecting civic virtues to become:

“...a band of brothers, and maintain your rights, liberties and independence with your last breath.”

Thus the second amendment is thus, the "palladium of liberty" not for a right to carry weapons but for it's role in civil government. Without that training, exercise and maintenance of virtue, "manly discipline," without that connection to civic government and militia is nothing more than a:

“disorderly populace, or a mass of animal machines”

And they were clear about it. Samuel Dana said:

“If we are to preserve our liberties, to perpetuate our nation, we must lay the foundation in the cultivation of virtue, in the dissemination of useful knowledge, we must learn to know our rights with Certainty, we must cultivate a spirit capable of defending them.” [page 103]

Every Citizen A Soldier, Every Soldier a Citizen

For the Founders generations, the principle was that,

“every citizen is a soldier and every soldier a citizen”

The right to bear arms is derived from the right of the people to live and thrive and resist injury. But it is also more than that. Participation in the militia is participation in government. When the government had to raise a "hue and cry", muster the people and defend themselves, this was a supreme act of self government. The militia could not be forced to fight for tyrants. Standing Armies can.

Arms are Merely A Tool to Accomplish a constitutional end

To folks like Samuel Dana:

“arms were not central to creating or preserving a well-regulated militia. Arms were merely a tool to accomplish the constitutional end.”

More important were:

“a knowledge of tactics and a perfection of discipline.”

Or as Joel Barlow put it:

“a balance in civil and military virtue” [page 103]

Every Citizen Has a Duty to Serve the Country

Dana believed that every citizen maintains

“a vital interest in preserving their liberty and property, both individually and collectively, as well as the very government that secures their inalienable right.”

Participation in our own government is to secure our own and the greater good. We have a duty to serve our country, preserve and "pay forward" the privileges and rights we enjoy.

Arms without Discipline Are the Mob

Without that balanced education, training and virtuous discipline armed persons are nothing but:

“a wieldy mass”

a mob, that would:

“prey upon and finally destroy the very country they were designed to protect”

The duty of the militia was “obedience” to rule of law, “first, second and third”

Avoiding Mercenary Standing Armies

The founders all saw the danger in:

“making our soldiers too distinct a body from the other citizens, of turning the profession of a soldier into the trade of a mercenary.” [ibid]

A Duty to Serve our Country

All the uniformed forces in the country directly, or indirectly, derive from the constitutional mandate that we defend, preserve and serve our country. Police, Fire, rescue services, emergency services in general, all descend from functions once formed by militia. And the requirements that once applied to militia still apply. The founders warnings about standing army can be applied as easily to poorly governed police forces or the USA Border Patrol, today, as in the time of the founders. But more importantly the need for a Palladium of Liberty is as real today as it was then.

Education, Police, Health Care Professionals require Training and Discipline

In this day as then our children need individual attention. They need training and discipline in the arts of civil life and civil government to function as a "palladium of liberty" that the founders talked about. Teachers have known this for centuries. The corrupt know this, which is why they seek public $ for private schools. They also know a well educated & disciplined citizenry is the real "palladium of liberty." Which is why they cut funding.

Public Service Drives Democracy

Likewise doctors, EM workers, etc... All are places where the principles of the militia, to train people widely for emergencies and call them into service when needed, would apply. Organizations like VISTA, Peace Corps, etc... are all expressions of the principles of the second amendment, and young people who serve their country can be a "palladium of liberty" if they are taught to be.

Our volunteer Army, when it functions as not 'too distinct' (separate or unequal) from the citizenry, is likewise a "Paladium of liberty" but current times we are seeing too many of our uniformed forces degenerate into mercenary "professionals" who owe loyalty to an individual rather than their homes, country and republican government.

When standing armies, like ICE, like too many police forces, private mercenaries, no longer serve the communities they hail from, they are what the Founding fathers warned about, not the "Palladium of Liberty."

Armed In America by Patrick J Charles: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y56WFY6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

HoltesThoughts

Monday, July 2, 2018

The Palladium of Liberty