Ben Thompson
September 8, 2006
Sept. 11 fifth anniversary -- what have we learned?
By Ben Thompson

As the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, among other questions, we need to ask ourselves could it have been prevented?

To answer this important query we should consider a source that might not seem logical at first, considering the times in which we live. But the answer has been there all along and we are missing it.

In many instances our Founding Fathers declared that they were guided by God in creating this nation. The Constitution is the center piece of their creation.

President George Washington said, "It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of Providential agency."

Our Framers, under heavenly guidance, sensed that certain basic principles do not changed with the passage of time. They created the founding documents based on those principles. The second amendment was and is one of the key freedoms that must be carefully guarded for the sake of national and personal security.

George Washington said, "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty's teeth and keystone under independence...From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil intereference- they deserve a place of honor with all that is good."

Thomas Jefferson: "No free man shall ever be debarred of the use of arms...it is their [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed."

Contemporary leaders have agreed. Former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey said, "Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government...is the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms..." John F. Kennedy said, "Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom."

If everyday Americans had the right to keep and bear arms at all times, everywhere, including on airplanes, Sept. 11 would have been prevented. Even terrorists know that you don't bring plastic knives and box cutters to a gunfight.

© Ben Thompson

 

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Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson, 60, of New Ulm, Minnesota, has a masters degree in counseling & psychological services, with concentration with juvenile justice, from St. Mary's College in Winona, Minnesota... (more)

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