Militia foiled NY bomb plot
<http://constitutionalism.blogspot.com/2010/05/militia-foiled-ny-bomb-plot.html>
News that the bomb plot was foiled by vigilant street vendors has
neglected to put the correct label on what that was: militia.
The street vendors are mostly veterans who are given a preference for
getting street vendor licenses, especially in the Times Square area of
New York City. They are not just competitors for the business of the
public. They form a loosely organized militia to protect the public
safety, and that role was demonstrated on Saturday, May 1, 2010, when
some of them spotted a suspicious SUV that had been laden with
explosives and fertilizer that the perpetrator mistakenly thought would
explode like a bomb.
It is possible the veterans do not self-identify as "militia", but that
is what they are, in the best tradition going back to before the United
States was even a nation. They join the heroes of Flight 93 as ordinary
but not unprepared Americans who, when confronted with a threat, call up
one another to meet it.
Government agents can't be everywhere or see everything. We must never
lose sight of the fact that the first line of defense against most
threats are vigilant civilians, and in that capacity they are militia,
the original meaning of which is defense service
<http://constitution.org/col/mil_inim.htm>.
These men, like most militia, are veterans, and thus have training most
civilians don't have. What is needed to meet the threats of the future
is to extend that kind of training to the entire population, starting in
early childhood. Nothing can fully protect us from every threat, but our
best chance is to make militia an integral part of the life of every
citizen.
-- Jon
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Constitution Society http://constitution.org
2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322 Austin, TX 78757
512/299-5001 jon.rol...@constitution.org
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