October 26, 2011
Elements of Violence
This comment from the mayor of Atlanta caught my eye, as reported today on CNN. “There are elements in that movement that are willing to engage in violence,” Mayor Kasim Reed said. “So I’m not going to let that stand.”
The “movement” being cracked down on is one exercising a Constitutional right. A right that our nation’s founders discovered that, when encroached upon, was always the spirit of tyranny at work. Always a first step in a broader move toward the misappropriation of political power. Always an early sign that political power was being used in way that did not value “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” of the individuals that gave power to the political body.
At this point, one might wonder which right is being encroached upon? Perhaps a bunch of right-wingers, those supporters of the Second Amendment right to bear arms? There are indeed some elements in that movement that COULD use violence. Perhaps a bunch of leftists, using the Occupy movement’s peaceful assembly as their megaphone to the Establishment. Either way, it seems that the mere possibility of violence is not justification for removing the right. If you are on one side of the aisle or the other, consider that the same passion for preserving rights exists on the other side. The same arguments apply. And the same Establishment wants to deny both. In this way, the recent news is not about left vs. right, not rich vs. poor, but very much about exercising oft-neglected Constitutional rights. Thoughtful civic leaders everywhere can support that.
