This quote is from Michael Yon, whose reporting is daring, and real. It sometimes reads like a 19th century adventure novel. Check it out on the link in the left column. In his current series, he is reporting on Burma. This quote is taken from that report:

"The local people, even the monks, expressed open hatred for the government of Myanmar. The people wanted guns as badly as they wanted shelter. They had no idea what to do with the guns, yet Charlie was deeply moved by the robust character of these people, to whom democracy and freedom were not cynical conceits argued over coffee or crumpets, but ideals for which these simple denizens of the river yearned, believing deep in their hearts that the United States of America could bring change to this far-off corner of the world. They hoped that the U.S. would swoop in and bring justice to the Irrawaddy by deposing the Myanmar military regime. But these hopes would be dashed by real-politik and shifting geo-strategic priorities. Something about the universality of man’s desires occurred to Charlie, how, he thought, we all want the same things—freedom, dignity, a chance to make our own way in this world."

This struck me, as it speaks to the danger of yet another unarmed populace, and what freedom can mean to those who have lost it. We know we enjoy freedom, we know it is hard to protect it, we know our history. But we rarely see so vividly why freedom is so precious. I particularly like the reference to the fact that without guns, the people are at the mercy of the tyrants. Little change from 1775, when the British marched to Lexington to try to disarm citizens.

And this is not an American obsession with being armed. The poster boy of passive resistance also saw how his country was subjugated by a tyrant disarming the populace:

‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’

— Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography"

Yet Michael's report is about far more than gun rights, it is about what is really happening in a jungle to simple people half way around the world. It left me astounded.