So, This is "Civilized Society"

How's that working out for you?

Melanie Phillips has a piece up blaming the Liberals in England for the riots at How the Liberals Ruined Britain. Of course, you must understand that while political labels such as "Liberal" and "Conservative" are the same words as used in the United States, the groups are not exactly analogous. In particular, "Conservative" in Britain means pretty much what it says, while in America, Conservatives wish to maintain the great leap forward in freedom and liberty of the individual represented by our Constitution, and would be more analogous to Libertarians. In any case, Phillips makes a number of good points. Children, boys especially, need fathers to show them how to be men, because most of what children learn is by example. To that end, society should encourage two parent households wherever possible. The schools, creation of victimhood and victimcrats, welfare and the entitlement society, nonjudgementalism, multiculturalism, are all destructive policies that need to change.

Here is another: The disarmament of the law abiding citizens, and the denial of the ancient right to self defense. I have written some time ago that the gun is civilization, in Why the Gun is Civilization. Once again, a hat tip to Marko at the Munchkin Wrangler for saying it much better than I could. Essentially, in any conflict, if both parties are armed, they must come to a reasonable understanding between them. Neither can be forced. In a disarmed society, the strong, the younger, the more ruthless will always "win" no matter the merits of their position. Interestingly, open handed methods, or the sword, while representing a step up from being totally disarmed, require many years to master, and a good deal of physical fitness that may be denied to some as they age or because of injuries or disease. But you can master the basic essentials of the gun in an hour at the range.

After reading the above, and reading the link, you will no doubt find it laughable that Rebecca Peters, former Director of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) always referred to her disarmed societies as "civilized society."  Peters apparently had some odd notions of what "civilized" means.  If the land that sits in the place of the formerly Great Britain is an example of a "civilized society," is it any wonder that most Americans reject that in favor of keeping their guns?  If those riots come here, most Americans want to be able to defend themselves and their property as the Koreans did in the L.A. riots.

America is traveling down the same road that has brought ruin to the British, but we have a chance to repent and again listen to Rudyard Kiplings Gods of the Copybook Headings, but we still want to keep our guns, just in case...

Update Saturday, 13 August 2011:  Jan LaRue has a piece touching on this same topic at American Thinker entitled Bats the way it is for unarmed Britons. Go take a look.