The Tiananmen Tank Man

How does a discussion on the right to bear arms lead one to the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989?

It starts with an understanding the fear held by the 18th-century Framers of professional, standing armies. For them it was no abstract fear. Their experiences with the British military (and Hessian mercenaries) were proof enough of the danger of a military unaccountable to the local population.

The iconic photo of the Tiananmen Tank Man seems a perfect illustration of the threat to individual liberty. Ultimately, it wasn't the tanks that crushed the man, but the authoritarian state. He was whisked away and never heard from again. Many presume he was executed for his act of defiance.

There is another story associated with the Tiananmen Tank Man, and that is the story of the Newsweek photographer, who risked his life to take the photo and had to go to extraordinary measures to get it published.

Most disturbing, is that even with Cole's as a result of government censorship, Chinese college students know nothing of what took place in 1989.



Perhaps its important to remind ourselves that--as much as we like to bash the media--the press has always been, in the word's of George Mason, "one of the great bulwarks of liberty." In the 18th century, a musket hanging over the hearth may haven been enough protection against a despotic government. But today, it may be that the 1st Amendment is probably the most powerful weapon a citizen holds.