Revolutionary thinking

History and change –

When I arrived in Lancaster PA, onw of my Aunts suggested I go do some genealogy research for relatives on my father’s side of our family. So I did, and I found a good deal of information and history from the mid 1700’s. It actually had a very good deal of history for as we all know European arrivals to this continent came to create a new life with freedoms not had under European rule at that time. They escaped persecution, they escaped tyranny and religious controls, they escaped hardships and feudal systems. Then they had a Revolution that establish a new democracy, a new government, founding principles, Declarations, Rights, Congressional representation, all of which have held the present test of time.

I found that I have ancestors that were gunsmiths, in fact they were very good gunsmiths and I found documents validating their commission to build arms for the Revolutionary Army. These were the famous Pennsylvania Long Rifles. A smoothbore blackpowder .50 caliber rifle. These, along with relatively few blackpowder pistols, were treasured and valued tools and were considered as personal property of the owner and became part of an estate to be passed down to younger generations. Craftsmanship, skill, and true artistry went  into the hand creation of these tools. They were treated with care and respect, and as a most valued tool for survival in primarily providing for food, and when needed, protection. As such, care and respect went into the use of the tool, and the same for the teaching of younger users to be certain no damage or harm came for accident or misuse. Respect for their power, respect for the life of the game they would hunt.

They were owned by the citizens and became the arms used to fight in response to tyranny and for revolution. When commissions were granted for building them for a Revolutionary Army, it was done by hand, no mass production was had at that time, and parts were made by hand locally and in secret, as every participant was in their action breaking the law of an English King, treasonous actions subject to prosecution by the King. They went from a family “tool”, to weapons, arms. Families split, Loyalist and Revolutionaries, or Patriots in their words, over this relovution and sided with Kings Law or with the Patriots, but until such time they were truly “free” and recognized as members of a won and newly formed Country with independent rule, the Patriots were traitors, farmers, militants, innkeepers, anarchists, subjects of England, criminals, shopkeepers. They organized and formed a citizen militia that had leaders, formed a structured representation, formed an organized Continental Army and township colonial militias. There was a common cause, organization to the goals of that cause, observance of order, structure, “rules” of engagement.

Upon winning their freedom and creating doctrines to govern, language was drafted significant to that time but also with core elements and careful wording to outline a long-term basis of Rights. There was debate, heated discussion, politics, negotiation and in the end compromise that had wisdom on ideals far more reaching than that of the day.

As this nation and the world developed so did “arms” to more effectively fight battles over conflicts. Arms were developed and improved for greater mass production, greater accuracy, and greater power to kill more people faster. Military actions, conflicts, wars, drove the enhancement of these weapons development far beyond a tool for hunting and simple home and family protection. They became weapons used in mass murders; of women and children, of elderly, and often times unarmed civilians, used on “heathens, animals, savages” , Native Americans and so often innocent civilians in their homes, beds, yards, schools, and at play. Slaughtered by weapons designed to kill, and to kill fast, and to kill many. To inflict deadly carnage en mass. And so it has continued over the ages increasing in the efficiency to kill other human beings.

My immediate family lived in Colorado and one of my daughters was attending her pre-school class on a school campus of children aged pre-school through 12^th grade. That school was less than a Mile from Columbine High School when that mass murder was committed. It shook the entire community, state and country to its core. We had school friends who lost loved ones in that horrible ordeal. We moved not long after, then moved again to quite Lancaster County PA. Home of many “Simple People”, the Amish; peaceful, god loving, farming families of German and Dutch decent, family histories in the area back to the 1700s just as as my own family ancestors. Then there came another horrific mass murder of innocent school children in a single room Amish school house. Again a community and nation shaken to its core.

Aurora Colorado, yes family leaving in that community, in fact family that frequents a movie theater there. Not on that day thankfully for them, but so tragic and horrible for many others; children, innocent, families, friends, lovers, civilians mass murdered with big powerful multi-shot military grade weapons.

Now Newtown CT. And again, I have some close association to that town, as I have driven past it, stopped in it for gas, thought what a quiet, peaceful, pretty town it is on my travels between Lancaster and Hartford CT. Who would ever imagine a mass murder taking place in an elementary school there? Innocent victims; little children, teachers, civilians, killed from multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by weapons of similar military grade.

Our Founding Fathers of a great nation formed from a citizen militia, did not draft a doctrine of Rights with the intent to allow for the mass murder of its civilians by way of the protected Right to “bear arms” to form a militia to combat a tyrannical government. And I believe by way of many years reading American History and biographies of many of those Founding Fathers, they would certainly have they wisdom, respect for life, clarity of the constitutional principal, and quite frankly they'd have the balls to establish and institute a change of laws to protect the citizens and their right to pursue “life, liberty and happiness” and still allow for the basis of the 2^nd Amendment to “bear arms and form a militia” as needed. There is a big and distinct difference in citizens continuing to have the right of owning arms for hunting, home and personal protection of property, and that of citizens forming a militia and "arming" themselves with military grade weapons to confront another opposing militia.  Those Founding Fathers would act swiftly, strongly, and as national leaders to protect innocent civilians. My greater fear is that we no longer have any congressional leaders with any balls (women of Congress included), to take a stand as bold, inspirational, and revolutionary as those Founding Fathers.

I wish you peace and strength to stand and speak out. Citizen revolutions start small these days!