Just like the 60’s western, some people travel with their gun to make a point…
I have heard all the news and debate about the guy who was outside the Hew Hampshire townhall….that he was on private property…..that he left before the pres arrived…..that he is a libertarian…….that he was exercising his 2nd amendment right (that I am still working on). He was also holding a sign that said the tree of liberty needs watering….with a don’t tread on me snake adorning it. I also heard the argument that he should have never been allowed to a tense situation with a gun.
No matter what the opinion of my reader is about the gun issue there is something that has been left out of the debate. In an article written by Robert Anglen for the Arizona Republic, there is more to this guy and the story:
William Kostric, 36, formerly of Scottsdale, stood outside the New Hampshire meeting on health care with a gun holstered at his thigh and holding a sign proclaiming that “it is time to water the tree of liberty.” State law permitted Kostric to openly carry a licensed handgun.
The quote, often referenced by those in separatist and militia movements, refers to Thomas Jefferson’s famous call for vigilance: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots.”
Web sites indicate that Kostric is a “team member” of the Arizona chapter of We the People Foundation, which has a stated goal of “returning America to its founding principles.”
On its Web site, We the People’s founder Robert Schulz says, “Our recent initiatives have focused largely on questioning the federal government’s abuse of its Constitutional powers to incur debt, tax labor, create currency by fiat, conduct war and police the peace.”
The group maintains that it is not concerned with politics or personalities in office. But Schulz supports the so-called birther movement, which promotes the idea that Obama wasn’t really born in the United States and shouldn’t be president. We the People joined a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged Obama’s presidency based on the citizenship claim.
So as usual, there is always more to the story than the beltway pundits want to include into the conversation. This guy may have attacked in a civil and peaceful way, but how will the next gun nut act or recat to the situation? It has been reported the Obama gets between 20-30 death threats a day….who is to say if the next wingnut will not act on a threat?
The trouble with most of the people who throw the Jefferson “tree of liberty” quote around is they don’t see the quote in it’s full context. In his letter, Jefferson said the people (talking about Shays Rebellion) had the right to rebel but that the government’s remedy was to “to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them.” In other words, sometimes the rebels have their facts wrong, just like now with health reform, and the government just needs to set them straight. In that spirit, I would have preferred Mr. Kostric had brought an open mind and ear for listening than a loaded gun.
Thanx for your input Kathy I appreciate the participation…..and you are right on all accounts…that is the problem with quoites…they are seldom used in their entirety.