Mark Steyn: Quote of the Day

Mark Steyn writes:

I think a healthy society needs both God and guns: It benefits from a belief in some kind of higher purpose to life on Earth, and it requires a self-reliant citizenry.

Exactly right. That's my reading of the second amendment's prefatory clause "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State". We need to protect the rights of the self-reliant, and encourage more people to be that way.

Not all people are capable of self government. It's not because of their hardware--skin color and ancestry don't matter. What does matter is their software--the ideas and values they hold dear. Self-reliance is a very important part of that equation.

But Mark Steyn is also right that a healthy society needs God. Self-reliance is necessary--but not sufficient in and of itself--to guarantee a healthy society. These self-reliant individuals need to have optimism in the future, and a willingness to apply their God-given energies to their own betterment and that of their fellows.

While not a parent myself, I have great respect for people who are willing to knowingly take on the risks, challenges, and responsibility of bringing children into the world. Belief in God and His purposes encourages people to become parents, and helps them inculcate their children with values of right and wrong. A strong culture of self-reliance also helps parents expend the energy and do what is needed to give their children every chance to succeed.

Those who believe in God and guns form the backbone of this culture and society. You can't force people to believe in those things--you can't force people like that into anything. That's the way it should be.