I get to educate some liberals

[SilenceDoGood]

So on march 23rd I have been assigned to give a speech in front of my very liberal senior seminar class (final class needed to graduate). The theme of the class (and speech) is civic engagement. The assignment is to find a quote on civic engagement and expand on it.

I am looking for a solid quote from a reputable historical figure that basically says carrying a gun is civic engagement, or something along those lines. Any help is greatly appreciated.


Thanks,

SDG

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Rob P.]

Smart idea here: Keep your political opinions to yourself. You have a better chance at graduating that way.

[ExHippie]

Forget what Rob P said. Just make sure you can back yourself up with facts and logic. The rest will take care of itself. Most professor's could care less if they agree with you or not. However, an unusual topic or stance is almost always well received. I'll see what I can find.

[ExHippie]

Try this website... By the way, if I had had access to google in college, it would have made things much easier.

Quotes* See the Founding Fathers quotes on gun rights and freedom.

there should be several there that you can use, personally, I like Plato

And don't forget, our nation was founded by the patriots engaging civically, and engaging with weapons. You have my permission to quote me

[ccw9mm]

The assignment is to find a quote on civic engagement and expand on it.

I am looking for a solid quote from a reputable historical figure that basically says carrying a gun is civic engagement, or something along those lines.

A decent quote? How about this one:

"Live Free Or Die."

- General John Stark, 1809

This is the oft-remembered first portion of the quote from General Stark, which he wrote some years following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War: "Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst Of Evils." Those first few words are, of course, the motto of the State of New Hampshire.

Stark was involved with the Society of Cincinnati, an organization that included many of the era's most respected officers. Specifically of interest might be the Society and its simple goals. From the From the entry in Wikipedia (as a starting point):

The Society is named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who left his farm to accept a term as Roman Consul and then served as Magister Populi (with temporary powers similar to that of a modern era dictator), thereby assuming lawful dictatorial control of Rome to meet a war emergency. When the battle was won, he returned power to the Senate and went back to plowing his fields. The Society's motto reflects that ethic of selfless service: Omnia relinquit servare republicam ("He relinquished everything to save the Republic"). The Society has from the beginning had three objectives, referred to as the "Immutable Principles": "To preserve the rights so dearly won; to promote the continuing union of the states; and to assist members in need, their widows, and their orphans."

Given how far the 2A struggle has come, the modest and honorable involvement of such officers and citizens in these types of organizations reflected their heart-felt belief that protecting the rights so dearly won in the War were crucial, if they were to survive as a People.

That fight continues today. Witness the modern Tea Party movement, Minutemen, the Libertarian political party's focus on a solid Constitutional core, and so on. Short of an overtly political stance, membership in the Society back in Stark's day would have represented a fairly modest civic involvement that reflected a strong belief in those core, fundamental, founding principles over which so many had fought. That fight to retain those core principles continues.

Something to consider, for a potential topic.

[maddyfish]

I am so glad I don't have to deal with the liberal nutjobs that are at most colleges.

The kids at my college go out shooting and 4 wheeling after class, instead of drinking and partying.

[razor02097]

Make it a speech about the facts. Keep opinions out of it. Its hard to argue with fact.

I never liked speeches in college... you always get the ONE person that no matter what you speak about they have to disagree and try to humiliate you.

[JoJoGunn]

Get to educate liberals?

Could that be considered an oxymoron!?!?

I didn't think it was possible to do so. I may be wrong however.

[Janq]

liberty freedom firearms quotes - Google Search

- Janq

"Tell the American people never to lose their guns. As long as they keep their guns in their hands, what happened here will never happen there." - A dying Chinese Citizen shot at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China

[chiefjason]

A few that I found.

‘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 than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.’’

— Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764

My favorite

‘‘And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless necessary for the defense of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions.’’

— Samuel Adams, Debates of the Massachusetts Convention of 1788


‘Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? ... If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?’’

— Patrick Henry


Counterpoint.

‘‘The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjected people to carry arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjected peoples to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non ["something essential" lit. "without which not"] for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or police.’’

-- Adolph Hitler, Edict of March 18, 1938


‘‘When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans ...... And so a lot of people say there's too much personal freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on the public housing projects, about how we're going to have weapon sweeps and more things like that to try to make people safer in their communities.’’

— Bill Clinton, 3-22-94


found here

Famous Gun Quotes

[WHEC724]

Whatever you do, prepare and execute your speech like it matters - because it does.

My liberal professors were so appreciative to have a sober and well-prepared presentation, that they could have cared less that I was clearly opposed to just about every tree-hugging, gun-confiscating, economy-crushing, socialistic cause that they stood for.

[gottabkiddin]

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."
- George Washington

[kazzaerexys]

My only suggestion is, make darned sure that the quotation you get is authentic. Find a verifiable source. There's a lot of fauxtations attributed to many people about many different topics out there, so just make sure you get over that first hurdle. Good luck!

[Ghuqu2]

+1 to Rob P.
Keep you political views to yourself.
In the 80s I took a communications class in college , our assignment was a humorous speech. The Aids epidemic was rampant and there was talk of marking or tattooing people w/ Aids to warn others not to have sex with them (Buckley Jr. was big on this). My speech was what to tattoo. Everyone laughed and I got high praise in student reviews, but I got an F on the assignment because one person was offended. All it takes is one, so keep that in mind as you pick your topic, the professor can use any excuse to ding you so why give him a large target?

[Zsnake]

SilenceDoGood....You Got Mail!!!!