Widom is simple in speak, but complex in execution

I've been trying to research as much as I can about the politics of guns. Which has led me to research of the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. From articles telling gun shop owners what to do when the BATFE comes knocking, to ignorant politicians thinking they know what's right for us, and then deciding for us, without asking us.

So needless to say it's been an unequivocal wake up call for me. So now I begin to doubt, and question those who claim they represent me. More importantly, it's also called my own line of thinking into question. Not so far as changing my way of thinking, I think I've got that down, but was I right or wrong?

So back to the research I went. At the time I was looking up the status on Russ Howard's exile. Then I stumbled upon Rabbi Mermelstein's column. After reading a few of his articles, I have to say that I no longer doubt myself. I continue to doubt those who claim to represent me (politicians, NRA, etc.). I don't shun them, but take their statements at face value until I can research it and come to my own conclusions about their activities.

Rabbi Mermelstein was responding to a letter and what he said helped me to understand my place in this whole mess.

[QUESTION: Dear Rabbi Mermelstein:


I just wanted to dash off a word of thanks to you for once again providing your wisdom and expertise on the internet. I, for one, sorely missed your insight during your absence, and am overjoyed that you have returned.

It's refreshing to find a fellow Jew who, like myself, thinks that firearms are a necessary part of Judaism rather than evil object that should be shunned. For a culture whose rallying cry is "never again" it has always amazed me how few are willing to follow through with force if necessary.

Thank you again, and I look forward to many hours spent reading your words.

Lee Manevitch
Bradenton, FL
15 August 2004



ANSWER: Dear Mr. Manevitch,

Thank you for the kind words. I missed writing short pieces for this column more than most readers realize. The lapse in time had exceeded two years, but I want to look forward rather than back.

The "Never Again" rallying cry of Jewish sheep placing their trust in the federal government or the local constabulary always impressed me as a wishful prayer and nothing approaching steadfast resolve. While the Never Again bluff artists are puffing out their chests they abhor the means to make the promise more than an ethereal exhalation of hot air. The bark of these Jewish survivalist wannabes is far more menacing than their bite. What will they do when push comes to shove? Will they run to the United Nations? And what will the United Nations do? It will issue a resolution condemning the slaughter. The U.N. Security Council will condemn the massacre of Jews just as it condemned the killing of more than 160 Tutsi Congolese refugees in western Burundi and urge the authorities in Burundi and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo to work together to quickly bring those responsible to justice as I read in today's news. A lot of good these pious condemnations do for the murdered. I'd be amused to listen to a spokesman for the private firearms ownership hating American Jewish Congress or the Union of American Hebrew Congregations explain how their position is one whit different from that of a professional welfare leech who is perfectly capable of working yet demands that government house, clothe and feed him.

We live in a violent world. It has always been violent. Those who rise to the occasion survive and the rest die an ignominious death. Nobody has ever come to rescue Jews from genocide, including this country. During Hitler's Final Solution this government closed its eyes to the smoke wafting from the crematorium chimneys and plugged its ears to the screams, citing specious political concerns. Nothing different is happening today in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

"Never Again" is worthless without the tools to make good on the avowal. My credo is "Work to eat and be armed to survive." Anything less is loud yapping from a dog contented to be toothless.

Thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

R. Mermelstein]

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So where does that place you, the reader of my blog? Are you prepared to use the tools to make good on your promise to "never again" be a victim? Is our government helping that cause or circumventing it? I understand there's much more to the legal wranglings of defending one's self. But there is an inherent wisdom that is needed here. We must attain a state that has the simplest of wisdom and executes it in the simplest way possible. Our founding fathers have the wisdom, they set forth a simple execution of that wisdom with the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now, more than ever, people are allowing their fear to infringe on that wisdom. They think that by enacting regulations they will have control over their fears. But they are wrong. Violence is a way of life. It will never go away. Every single person will experience violence at one point or another. Whether it is through their actions or the actions of another. A person using violence with malicious intent is, I think, the problem. People are afraid of that. So they try to regulate all aspects of the problem in hopes that the problem goes away. This is utopian thinking. Yes, in a dream world, if you could instantly dissolve all the firearms in the world, they would cease to be part of the equation. But that will never happen. Humans, from the beginning of time, have adapted to their environment and carried on. Take the guns, we'll use knives. Take knives and we'll use bats. The survival instinct will never be regulated out of existence.

Reality.

There are now laws and government agencies whose sole purpose is to regulate firearms. And we, the people, let this happen. They have spawned out of control and are in danger of spreading if unchecked.

But are we now safer because of these regulations and agencies?

No. Those people who use violence with malicious intent don't listen to laws or agencies. They prowl the earth using their own rules. Survive. They will acquire weapons whether we regulate them or not. It's not the mom and pop gun store that's selling them to the criminal element. So why hassle them? They get what they need from wherever they can get them. As to WHERE they're getting them from, well, catch them and ask them.

The people who are hindered by the regulations and agencies are citizens like you and me. I work hard, I pay my taxes, as do most of you. I obey the laws as best as I can and help out my fellow man whenever possible. Some members of our government live with utopian ideals, they say I cannot have a firearm on my person unless I register it, do a background check and receive training. Many states don't even give their citizens that luxury. Remember a few things. Police are not your bodyguards. They will not help you survive. Politicians will not protect you, they have personal security for themselves to keep them safe. Your neighbors will try to help you, but will probably be sued by the criminal's relatives in a civil trial, so don't look for their immediate support.

In the end, you have to look out for you. And your ability to do so is hindered by ignorant political factions claiming to be working for the greater good.

The wisdom our founding fathers showed was simple. Yet due to the selfish nature of greed, that wisdom is being molested into something not at all like the original thoughts of the day.

Time may change, and as a species we may evolve, but the wisdom stays the same. Whether or not we allow our leaders to corrupt the original messages of defined freedoms is up to us.