Defenselessness represents a temptation to morally weak people

To the Editor;
It was April 30, 1945, eight days before the end of World War II in Europe and Harald Simon, an 18-year-old private in the German Army, lay in a hospital bed near Prague. He’d been wounded and lost an eye during a Russian mortar attack.

Simon had received several packs of cigarettes, a gesture of goodwill, which had been carefully placed by a hospital volunteer on a nightstand at his bedside the prior evening. Waking from a fitful night’s sleep and barely able to focus his remaining eye, he reached to the small table, fumbled around with one hand only to discover the cigarettes were gone. Days went by and they never reappeared.

The disappearance of those cigarettes provided a lesson for Simon and the following is what he wrote in his journal, “That brought it home to me that defenselessness represents a temptation to morally weak people, because it makes it possible to do evil without risk to oneself.” You might want to read his words again and consider how the mere thought of being defenseless, no matter its form — physical, emotional or psychologically can put you at disadvantage and provide a morally corrupt person with unwarranted power and control.

As it might be applied to gun control, think of the possible consequences to all of us if the gun control advocates can render responsible gun owners defenceless. Consider for a moment what the possible agenda might really be if morally weak people gained control of your weapons. Aside from losing your ability to defend your family, home and yourself, the morally corrupt could well gain the ability to control and even take your life and the lives of loved ones.

If Simon could recognize evil from his hospital bed, handicapped by having only a single damaged eye, think what your potential and abilities could be as we each stand witness to the unrelenting assault on our individual rights and values. It’s time for each of us to remain strong and to remember our forefathers, brothers and sisters who have paid the ultimate price so that we can live in freedom. As never before we must be more vigilant in order to ensure the morally weak never become so powerful that we lose what our incredible Constitution has given us.

Don Benjamin
Dover-Foxcroft