Keep and Bear Arms

The Cage

by Milt Borchert

A long time ago, in a land far away, one group of people (at great cost in lives and treasure) killed a fearsome beast. This beast and others of its kind had ravaged the land and destroyed many lives. Another group of people in that land thought that a smaller, domesticated version of the beast could be useful, like the wolf and the aurochs in ancient times gave rise to the dog and cattle of today.

The first group feared the beast in any form. They insisted that the thing could only be brought into their midst if a totally secure cage was built to contain it completely. After much debate, a cage design consisting of ten interlocking panels (reduced from the original dozen or so) was approved and carefully constructed. As the panels were padlocked together, the beast was brought in. Unfortunately, a key was dropped into the cage in the excitement of the transfer.

The shiny key was overlooked by most (including the beast) for many years. Only the village anarchist paid it any attention; he (Lysander Spooner) was chastised and even punished for his temerity.

Eventually, the beast became clever enough to see the key for what it was. It was also clever enough to realize that if it simply escaped the cage, it would be hunted down and killed, for the people still feared it. So it patiently waited and watched. Soon it began to convince most of the people that the inside of the cage was really the outside; unnoticed by most, it slipped out and hustled the people in during an "emergency" of its own creation. Whenever a large enough percentage of the people started asking why the "outside" of the cage looked so confining, the beast simply created another "emergency" to distract them.

So, ever since, the people of that benighted land have milled about in their cage and the beast has grown ever larger on their productive efforts. The land is the United States, the Beast is the federal government, and the cage is, of course, the Bill of Rights. The key? Entrusting the government's own court system to "interpret" the Constitution as a "living document", when, in fact, it was intended as a strict limitation on the government. Articles Nine and Ten of the Bill of Rights clearly spell this out. Is it our turn to hunt the Beast down and kill it -- or do you think it will put its tail between its legs and slink back into the cage?

If anyone knows how to reach this writer, please have him contact us. We'd like to know if he has done more writing. ~~ KABA

This article, of course, is not intended as anything more than the parable it is, from start to finish, and is in no way suggestive that any such actions should be taken against any of the lying, cheating, stealing, oath-breaking, liberty-choking traitors infesting legislative bodies all across America and maybe in your own back yard. It's just a story.

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Written By:	Milt Borchert
	The Cage by Milt Borchert A long time ago, in a land far away, one group of people (at great cost in lives and treasure) killed a fearsome beast. This beast and others of its kind had ravaged the land and destroyed many lives. Another group of people in that land thought that a smaller, domesticated version of the beast could be useful, like the wolf and the aurochs in ancient times gave rise to the dog and cattle of today. The first group feared the beast in any form. They insisted that the thing could only be brought into their midst if a totally secure cage was built to contain it completely. After much debate, a cage design consisting of ten interlocking panels (reduced from the original dozen or so) was approved and carefully constructed. As the panels were padlocked together, the beast was brought in. Unfortunately, a key was dropped into the cage in the excitement of the transfer. The shiny key was overlooked by most (including the beast) for many years. Only the village anarchist paid it any attention; he (Lysander Spooner) was chastised and even punished for his temerity. Eventually, the beast became clever enough to see the key for what it was. It was also clever enough to realize that if it simply escaped the cage, it would be hunted down and killed, for the people still feared it. So it patiently waited and watched. Soon it began to convince most of the people that the inside of the cage was really the outside; unnoticed by most, it slipped out and hustled the people in during an "emergency" of its own creation. Whenever a large enough percentage of the people started asking why the "outside" of the cage looked so confining, the beast simply created another "emergency" to distract them. So, ever since, the people of that benighted land have milled about in their cage and the beast has grown ever larger on their productive efforts. The land is the United States, the Beast is the federal government, and the cage is, of course, the Bill of Rights. The key? Entrusting the government's own court system to "interpret" the Constitution as a "living document", when, in fact, it was intended as a strict limitation on the government. Articles Nine and Ten of the Bill of Rights clearly spell this out. Is it our turn to hunt the Beast down and kill it -- or do you think it will put its tail between its legs and slink back into the cage? If anyone knows how to reach this writer, please have him contact us. We'd like to know if he has done more writing. ~~ KABA This article, of course, is not intended as anything more than the parable it is, from start to finish, and is in no way suggestive that any such actions should be taken against any of the lying, cheating, stealing, oath-breaking, liberty-choking traitors infesting legislative bodies all across America and maybe in your own back yard. It's just a story.