The American colonists and settlers of its frontier would not recognize a nation where a young man would be put on trial for murder merely because he defended himself against armed criminals. But let it never be said that all members of Kyle Rittenhouse’s generation are snowflakes. HE certainly is not. And he represents that best of the American spirit of independence and sovereignty over one’s life that once made our country great, and hopefully will again.
Ayn Rand, back in the 1970s, spoke to the deeper issue at stake in the Kyle Rittenhouse case of 2021: self-defense.
The necessary consequence of man’s right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. All the reasons which make the initiation of physical force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative.
If some “pacifist” society renounced the retaliatory use of force, it would be left helplessly at the mercy of the first thug who decided to be immoral. Such a society would achieve the opposite of its intention: instead of abolishing evil, it would encourage and reward it. (Ayn Rand)
Communists, tyrants, fascists and all manner of emotional abusers HATE it when you fight back. Yesterday was such a good day for justice.
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