I intended to publish the final part of the Hegelian series, but I can't stop thinking about the unrelenting gun violence. I'm going to go with my mind and work my thoughts on gun violence into this essay.
A HEGELIAN ANALYSIS OF GUN VIOLENCE
I cherish my freedom above all, and another gun-driven mass murder has just occurred. I cherish my freedom above all, and I desperately want more gun control enacted into law. I cherish my individual rights above all, but I want to strengthen the rights of the community. In the Hegelian dialectic, individual rights and community rights are not an either/or proposition; they are inextricably linked.
But wait! What about my individual right to own an AR-15? But wait! What about my individual right to feel safe in a mall, school, church, bank or even my own home? What about my individual right to keep my head from getting blown off? I believe in my individual right to have a head, be alive and not feel constant terror. I will protect those rights at the expense of having the right to own an AR-15.
Here we see the Hegelian paradox at play: An over-emphasis on individual rights inevitably diminishes individual rights. This is how, above all, I can cherish my individual rights and at the same time fight for gun regulations. This is also how I can cherish individual rights and at the same time cede some power to the state. Laws are a paradox. They simultaneously destroy and preserve freedom. Democracy has always been the art of maximizing freedom through the judicious application of authority.
