Institutional Failure and Self Defense

"Sorry, boss, but there's only two people I trust. One of them's me. The other's not you."
--Cameron Poe (Con Air)

All individuals have the right to defend themselves from physical aggression. The right to self-defense stems from our broader right to life--and the right to live our lives in pursuit of what each of us individually deems important. Individuals can rightfully pursue those interests as long as they do not forcibly interfere in the pursuits of others.

These rights are not granted by a politician or by a piece of parchment. They are ours naturally by birth and founded in our humanity. We may choose to surrender the right to self-defense--as Christ did during the Passion. But no one can forcibly take the right to self defense from someone else.

When their scopes are properly defined, institutions of government exist to help individuals protect their lives and liberty. Without those institutions, individuals would be less free as they would need to dedicate more of their lives fending off acts of aggression rather than peacefully pursuing their interests. The workers who populate those government institutions are in fact hired guns--strong armed agents hired to help secure life and liberty.

Contracting security duties to government agents does not absolve individuals from primary responsibility for their own self-defense. This is because institutions and their agents can fail to adequately protect their principals.

One source of institutional failure is unintentional error. In a resource-constrained world, acts of aggression often take place because there are not enough government agents to prevent all crimes from occurring. Instead, 'officers of the law' must be called to the crimes scenes reactively, and often arrive after acts of aggression have resulted in loss of life and/or property. Not being in the right place at the right time plagues the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.

Institutional failure might stem from mistakes in cognition and judgment. As demonstrated by the recent Florida school shooting, law enforcement agencies at both federal and local levels ignored potential leads about the shooter prior to the crime. Once called to the scene of the crime, it appears police officers violated protocol by remaining outside the school rather than quickly entering and engaging an active shooter. None of these mistakes were likely intentional. Instead, they probably stemmed from 'human' causes such as information overload, poor understanding of procedure, or downright fear.

Unfortunately, institutional failure can be intentional as well. Recognizing the tremendous power wielded by government force, government agents might choose to employ that force in pursuit of their own interests--rather than in protection of the interests of others. This presents an ominous situation: Strong armed agents who turn their guns on the principals that they are supposed to protect.

Unintended or not, institutional failure is one reason why individuals must remain armed in their own defense.