Albert Einstein once said (and probably said it more than once), "Imagination is more important then knowledge." His comment should have the status of a Natural Law; "Einstein's Law of Imagination," if you will.
That comment is from from a man who changed the world by imagining what it would be like to ride a light-beam (I've always had this image of him waving a cowbay hat and yelling, "Yee haa!!"). And notice he didn't denigrate knowledge; he just said there was something more important.
I'd have to agree with Einstein. Knowledge is important, but disconnected facts are worthless unless one has the imagination to figure out how to connect them and make them useful.
For example, when I was about 13 years old I read A.E. van Vogt's novel, The Weapon Shops of Isher. It vividly portrayed not only the importance of an armed citizenry, but, more importantly, the fact the citizens have to be better armed than the State. That's the only way they can remain free.
Van Vogt's observation should also be given the status of a law. Van Vogt's Law: "To remain free, the citizens must always be better armed than the State." The collorary to this is, obviously, "If the State is better armed than you are, sooner later you won't be free anymore."
His book had a profound effect on me. I've probably read it a dozen times. I still have a copy. Because of it, I understood the importance of an armed society even before I knew what the Second Amendment was. And once I found out what it is, I knew its importance because I had already vividly imagined a society which remained free because the people had much better weapons that the State.
The Second Amendment is just a statement of fact. Van Vogt's book added imagination to it, so I could literally see the vital importance of citizens having weapons. It illustrated one of the first things I learned in journalism class: "Show, don't tell." Hmmm...that's a law, too. Let's call it, "The Storyteller's Law."
"Telling" is just reciting facts; "showing" is adding imagination to them and making a story out of it. I think that's the reason why the human race has traditionally used myths, fables and fairy tales to educate the young. It's showing, not telling. Unfortunately, a lot of education today in the public schools is just...telling.
Van Vogt's novel also illustrated the fact that the free market will always beat the State (darn, that's also a law; let's call it "The Dumb Politician's Law", although "dumb politician" is redundant). You need look no further than the fact that the State has never succeeded in outlawing anything people want. The free market has always supplied people with what they desire, no matter what States has tried to prevent it.
States can try to ban weapons all they want, ignoring the fact the equipment needed to make a machine-gun can be stored on a closet shelf. And, human nature being what it is, a lot of people will churn out pistols, rifles and machine-guns, because the black market will make their manufacture very profitable. The State can no more ban firearms than they can ban booze or drugs. The free market will beat the government, every time. The State, unfortunately, can never seem to figure this out.
posted by Bob Wallace , editor on loan from Intergalactic Death Rays, Inc..
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