Perspectives: Cody Wilson is proving that ideas are bulletproof
By Bryan Hyde
OPINION — It’s hard to recognize when history is being made because seemingly small turning points only become major shifts over time.
A good example of this can be seen in the actions of Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed.
Wilson has been in the media spotlight for several years now since producing the world’s first 3D printed handgun
Wilson has been in the media spotlight for several years now since producing the world’s first 3D printed handgun. Wilson posted the designs online and 100,000 copies were downloaded and distributed worldwide before authorities sought an injunction to close the barn door long after the livestock had departed.
After a protracted court battle, Wilson emerged victorious when the Justice Department ruled that distributing the coded files for his liberator pistol, as well as other firearm blueprints, was a form of free speech and, therefore, could not be infringed.
The prospect of do-it-yourself gun-making has sent gun control proponents within government and the media into an even deeper state of hysteria. Last week, a federal judge in Seattle issued a restraining order intended to stop the further spread of the information files.
He might as well have ordered the tide not to rise.
Not only is the information already safely disbursed throughout cyberspace, but Wilson also nullified the judge’s order not to give away the files by allowing downloaders to name their own price and buy them. And it’s completely legit.
Technology has decentralized their influence and is disrupting their consolidation of control
It’s fascinating to see how frightened those in power have become now that they are beginning to realize that they are powerless to stop information that can render their pronouncements irrelevant. Technology has decentralized their influence and is disrupting their consolidation of control.
Forget the panicky “what if” scenarios about how criminals might do something bad because of distributed knowledge. Genuine criminals haven’t exactly been waiting for this technology so they can do bad things.
Should the government run background checks on everyone wishing to learn about machining, material science, basic chemistry, coding, CAD ?
Must we first gain the permission of the ruling class whenever we want to know something?
Wilson’s answer is not only “no” but “Hell no!”
Those who are tempted to dismiss Wilson’s stance as the actions of a mad man are in for a very rude awakening. Wilson is articulate, informed and committed to defending his natural rights.
He shuts down the fear-mongering establishment media lackeys with calm and rational answers to their baseless doomsday scenarios. They forget that an actual victim, evidence of harm done, is required before a person may justly be held responsible for having caused it.
He’s their worst nightmare — a courageous and principled man who cannot be intimidated by official bluster
He has informed the politicians who are threatening to rein him in that he’ll force them to shut down the internet so the world can see the depths of their insane lust for control. He’s their worst nightmare — a courageous and principled man who cannot be intimidated by official bluster.
Wilson has decisively outwitted the politicians who have sought to stop him and he explains why he’s also setting a hopelessly biased media straight at the same time:
To read headline after headline about how you can no longer 3D-print a gun, you can no longer have these files, this is not true. This has never been true. I now have to demonstrate this to you, forcefully, to deliver the point.
Those who have gradually awakened to the growing disconnect between our government and the citizenry come to realize that our fantasy about living in a free society doesn’t quite square with reality. Sure, there are less free places in the world but what’s so great about being the healthiest patient on life support?
The change has come incrementally, as it has in every society that has succumbed to the authoritarian siren song of security at the price of liberty. When we fail to learn from history, we naively believe that whatever ruined them will not ruin us.
It’s astonishing how many people will blindly grasp for any reason to believe what the ruling class along with its media sycophants are telling them. Especially when our ruling structures are populated with corrupted opportunists who are supported and celebrated by media shills.
We’re propagandized that without the blessings of the ruling class, we’d be little more than cavemen
From an early age, we’re propagandized that without the blessings of the ruling class, we’d be little more than cavemen scavenging for scraps to survive. In reality, the red and blue parties cast blame at each other while both are actively fleecing us and trying to control us.
It’s odd that, as distrusted as most politicians are in public opinion polls, the American public still treats them with a deference once reserved for celebrity. We’re too easily distracted to recognize how thoroughly we’ve been played.
As John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute notes:
The malls may be open for business, the baseball stadiums may be packed, and the news anchors may be twittering nonsense about the latest celebrity foofa, but those are just distractions from what is really taking place.
What is desperately needed is the kind of commitment to moral truth and virtue, combined with personal courage, that animated our founding generation and many who followed in their footsteps.
Cody Wilson appears to have been cut from the same cloth as the founders. On moral principle, they defied the King’s demands that they submit to his regulations without question and they won.
Pay attention, history is being made here.
Bryan Hyde is an opinion columnist specializing in current events and liberty viewed through what he calls the lens of common sense. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.
Connect With Us