LETTER: WISDOM FROM THE PAST

To the editor:

God gave everyone a brain, and there is a reason for this. Without a brain, a body would be a fearsome thing. But its greatest danger would be to itself, because it would probably self-destruct in a short time. But there is a flow in all brains. An unused one is as bad as none at all and is subject to being tampered with by those who would use a person's own brain against himself. This is being done daily by television news commentators and many of our politicians who would like to gain complete control of our lives.

Our country used to be considered as the greatest in the world. The men who drew up the Constitution and Bill of Rights and in other ways helped to shape this country had to have the best brains (or at least the most used brains) that existed then or since.

The following are some quotes from these gentlemen which should be given some serious thought instead of letting our brains be filled by silly nonsense spouted by some of our self-serving politicians.

- Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. -- George Washington.

- The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. -- Edmund Burke.

- The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. -- Edmund Burke.

- The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of armed troops. -- Noah Webster.

- Guard with jealous attention the public's liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force you are ruined. -- Patrick Henry.

- If I were an American while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms. Never, never, never! You cannot conquer America. -- William Pitt.

- They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Benjamin Franklin.

- No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. -- Thomas Jefferson.

- Arms in the hands of individual citizens may be used at individual discretion. -- John Adams.

- The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed, which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. -- James Madison.

- Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them. -- Thomas Paine.

- Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage them to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attached with greater confidence than an armed one. -- Thomas Jefferson.

- A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves, and include all men capable of bearing arms. To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms. -- Richard Henry Lee.

- The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. -- Samuel Adams.

- I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the who people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them. -- George Mason.

- The people have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state. -- Pennsylvania Declaration of 1776.

- Those who reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. -- Thomas Paine.

A final note: If it hadn't been for the guns in the hands of the citizens, we would not have won our independence from England in the Revolutionary War. That's something to think about.

RAYMOND UMBDENSTOCK

Cape Girardeau