"Palme D'Or" for Mike Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11&

[Chaerophon]

They believe that the people en masse are sovereign over the State, as in "Of the People, by the People, for the People".

Who were the people again? Oh, that's right, white property owners. So, what other purpose might gun possession and private militias served??? Hmmmm... Probably property protection, eh? Let's not forget, in the Lockean passage from which your "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is borrowed, happiness is replaced by property. It's all fine and dandy to mythologize your history; but in an argument like this, it's downright misleading.

In addition, I think that you are making too great of a distinction between "people" and "state". The people do empower and legitimate the state. The state is a function of the people. However, the state is granted sovereignty over the people through the electoral process. This is the nature of representative democracy, and, every four years, elections are held so as to give the people another chance to choose. Governance is impossible in your ultra-populist articulation.

As a final note, it goes without saying that, moreso than guns, the bicameral legislature, the separation of executive and legislative, and the federal system were set up to protect against state tyranny. I would argue that the second amendment was an exercise in property protection. Even if you do not agree with me, you must realize that the American system of governance was constructed so as to maximally prevent tyranny. Sovereignty and authority were divided between senate and house, the state and federal level, executive and legislative. It wasn't all as simple as "hey, you're exploiting me, vive la revolution!" The idea was to set up governments so as to prevent tyranny from ever occurring. While as a last resort, the threat of violence may have been a deterrent to tyrannical government, I think that the greater fear was a loss of power come the next election.