Right Tools for the Right Job: Purpose

Up to now, this series has focused on gear and training. We’ve asked you to consider your “why?” regarding the equipment. We have advised some training is better than none, and more is better than some. 

So, what now? If your “why” was job related or home defense, it’s pretty straightforward, keep training. If your “why” is more along the preparedness route of TEOTWAWKI, we’d suggest your “why” would be incorporating your gear and training with long-term preparations. 

Where “what now?” becomes challenging are the “civil unrest” or “keep in my vehicle” scenarios.

Mob rules

Back in May, we discussed how mob rule is evil. Recent events have demonstrated that mobs are unpredictable, dangerous, and deadly. There’s no shortage of advice and guidance about what you should do if you’re caught up in a riot or civil unrest. Recommendations range from staying in your car to leaving the area to self-defense. 

Everyone’s circumstances will be different; local laws, personal morals and ethics, and the actual situation will influence your actions and potential outcome. And even if you are attacked while in your vehicle and manage to get away, you could still be arrested until things get sorted out. This is obviously better than being dead.

We are not offering legal advice, but the best thing to do is think about what to do before you find yourself being chased down by a crowd of rioters. 

A right unexercised is a right lost

A lot of gun owners have wondered what the point of the Second Amendment is if we cannot exercise it by carrying self defense tools, that our rights are being infringed if we can’t own or carry a firearm for personal protection. They’re both right and wrong.

The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to guarantee the People would always have a chance to fight back against a tyrannical government. It has never been about hunting or general self-defense. 

Hunting and self-defense are ancillary benefits we enjoy because of the Second Amendment. On the frontier, firearms were just another tool, used for food, defense and, when needed, fighting an oppressive government. And they still remain this way.

Where do we go from here?

Natural law presupposes the right of Man to feed and protect himself and his family...we already had these rights, so the Second Amendment was added to include the right to keep and bear arms to secure a free state. But in the current political and legal climate, you need to keep two questions in mind:

1. Is it always wise to exercise your natural right to self-defense? 
2. Is it wise to exercise it by yourself?

The answers shouldn’t be difficult (hint: they are “no” and “it depends”). As we’ve seen recently around the country, there are real consequences of exercising your God-given right to defend hearth and home. 

Failing to plan is planning to fail

The best equipment available won’t tell you when you should or shouldn’t shoot. All the tactical training in the world won’t do any good if substandard equipment fails you, putting you out of the fight. All the legal and moral training won’t help you defend against evil without the gear and tactical instruction to back that training up.

“Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe winning can happen by accident. Sweat...is for those who know it's a choice.” -- Texas Christian University baseball

The best thing you can do is figure all this out now, before you need to, before you find yourself on the wrong end of a mob or person bent on attacking you. Wondering what you should be doing while it’s happening puts you way behind the power curve. And that’s no place you want to be.

Remember, the best time to prepare was yesterday. The second best time is today.