Congresswoman Shot in Country that Confuses Liberty with License

In Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881, the Clanton gang fought a rather vicious gun battle with Wyatt Earp, his bothers and Doc Holliday (a well-armed dentist). The Shoot-Out at the OK Corral has taken on legendary proportions with people in Australia, Nigeria and the Orkney Islands understanding the reference. In that incident, three men died and three were wounded. Sixty miles away and 129 years later, a gunman shot and killed 6 people (including a federal judge, a congressional aide and a nine-year-old girl) and wounded 14 more (including the local member of Congress). Quite literally, it was bloodier than the Shoot-Out at the OK Corral. This is what happens when people confuse liberty with license.

Americans are big on rights. It seems to be genetic or something in the water. American police are required to tell an arrested individual what their rights are at that moment. The cry of an American who feels hard done by is "I'm a taxpayer, I've got rights." In fact, even those who don't pay taxes have rights in the US. And this journal proudly takes advantage of one of the biggest -- freedom of the press.

Freedom, liberty and rights are all words for the same thing, the ability of the individual to to as he or she pleases without government interference. What has been missing from America in recent decades is a word that makes those other words feasible in a social setting, "responsibility." Yes, one actually does have the right to yell "Fire" in a crowded theatre, but there are consequences for such an act. Inciting a riot is a crime in most nations, America included, because there are consequences.

America has forgotten that liberty is not license. Yes, one can take a concealed weapon into a church, or to a presidential town-hall meeting. But just because one can, doesn't mean one should. George Carlin did a routine years ago about the "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television." Does such a ban violate free speech? Yes. On the other hand, who wants to hear Linus van Pelt say "You're a dip-shit. Go fuck yourself, Charlie Brown"?

The truth of the matter is that freedom, rights or liberty merely means that the government is not going to get involved in regulating social behavior. Yet, behavior needs to be limited in order for civil society to exist. The individual must govern himself; the citizen must be the one who sets limits for herself. Freedom means governing oneself.

Americans have the right to bear arms; it says so in the Second Amendment. Should all Americans bear arms? No. Minors, convicted felons and the mentally unstable should not. Should even sane, law-abiding grown-ups bear arms? Not unless they have had some instruction in gun safety. Should law-abiding gun-owners carry their guns everywhere they go? Probably not, sleeping with a gun under the pillow is not necessary each and every night.

However, suggesting to Americans that their behavior is foolish, stupid or dangerous (or most likely a combination thereof) is likely to be met with "It's my right." No one is questioning the rights of the individual, but rather the wisdom of the person exercising those rights.

Right-wing talk radio may have encouraged the shooter in Tucson to mistrust authority (the left in America has almost no talk radio, and hasn't been violent since the Weathermen shut down). The gun-lobby may have set the bar too low in keeping guns out of the hands of the unbalanced. The shooter's American history classes may have made too romantic the idea of taking up arms against "We the People." It's far too early to fix blame. However, it is not too early to suggest that the last half century has seen Americans indulge themselves in their constitutional rights awhile ignoring their social responsibilities.

© Copyright 2011 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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