In a recent post about the campus shooting at Northern Illinois University one reader, who lives near the campus, posted this:

I am discouraged that no one took their books, laptops, anything and just threw it at the guy, no one fought back.  It’s that passivity that troubles me.

That’s a great point.  It seems that far too often modern Americans have an instinct to cower or run away when threatened instead of fighting back.  Especially younger Americans, and based on my personal experience I’d have to say that it’s being learned in our schools.

When I went to school fighting, even when fighting back against a bully who was threatening you, was enough to warrant suspension.  Maybe even a call to the police and/or expulsion.  If you argued to the administrator that you were defending yourself, even if you could prove that you had no part in starting the fight and were simply trying to fend of an attack, it didn’t matter.  That you were fighting was wrong, and thus worthy of punishment.

I think the kids who grew up with that approach to discipline are the same ones who don’t fight back as adults.  Now, granted, I can’t blame an unarmed student for fleeing from a gunman.  Nobody wants to die, but there is certainly a lack of a “take command” attitude when it comes to personal safety.  We’re taught in school that defending ourselves is worthy of punishment.  As adults, we’re told by politicians that we can’t be trusted with our own guns.  We’re told that the police will protect us, and that when in trouble we should simply wait for them to arrive.

That’s not right.  We, as Americans, need to reassert our individual liberties a bit more.  We have an inalienable right to life and liberty and should take the utmost pride in defending that ourselves.  Certainly we should look to the authorities for help when that’s feasible, but we need to get back to the time when our citizens fought back when attacked instead of scattering like the sheep we’ve become.