China's rise and its challenges, the emergence of robotics as a major economic force, Greece's fiscal woes, and the threat posed by a warming climate are among the most important things happening in the world today.
The Founders knew defense was important, which is why they made it a central part of the governmentâs. In his paper, âThe Price of Liberty: Providing for the Common Defense,â Matthew Spalding explains: It is the constitutional duty of the federal government to secure the countryâs international borders and preserve and protect its territorial integrity, to strengthen and preserve its constitutional government, and to promote the long-term prosperity and well-being of its people.
The Second Amendment expressly endorsed the substantive common-law rule that protected the citizenâs right (and duty) to keep and bear arms when serving in a state militia. In its decision in Heller, however, the majority interpreted the amendment as though its draftsmen were primarily motivated by an interest in protecting the common-law right of self-defense.