'On the Tenacity of Hope,' a Response and a plea

“Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law-to the strength of the spirit.” - Thus Gandhi, great jurist and father of India, explained his civilized concept of 'Ahimsa...' I agree with Gandhi not in all things but potently in what follows: when we settle large social questions with "brute might..." we move toward not away from 'a planet of the Apes.'  If this barbaric course of anti-social action is followed, the next generation of brave new ideas simply and sensibly just won't come forward.

Moving on,
let's address certain unserious 'issues' very seriously and candidly: no coward runs for
President of the United States and certainly not as a socialist in this political climate...
Sanders chose an obvious extreme risk of life and limb over a cushy moneyed
position. The same is true for most political dissidents(M.L.K., Gandhi,
Jesus, etc.):  they're an extremely brave variety, almost without variation.

Now
I give my oath before God(and there is some record) that my social critiques are of merit and
that I've spoken them clearly not just in print but directly and audibly
in front of my fellow citizens, in front of hostile thugs and, frankly,
hostile police officers ... if my critics had endured a third of the
physical torture I have at the hands of the oppressive, it's God's truth
that they'd never again dare to step toward or criticize a potato chip

Moving
on, like too many of my fellow citizens, for years now I've been denied various citizenship rights including that of arms... thus to ask me to physically defend myself against mob
violence, without giving me time and resources to prepare, or putting
matters before a court... is not an honorable or legal request. Moral
bravery does not require us to honor such in any form. If my physical
courage is depleted, it's been so depleted by long and peacefull assertion and also countless incidents of....  physical torture... in the brave tradition of non-violent dissent, as practiced and
proposed by Gandhi, Thoreau, M.L.K. and the holy Christ.