The Constitution, OUR Constitution, is much more than a simple frame work for the Government, it is THE supreme law of the land; it is what our society is based on, and it applies to all of us. Whether a butcher, baker, candle stick maker or congressman in this country, you fall under the umbrella of the constitution. The idea that it is 'us' vs. the government, or the government vs. 'them', can only be formed in a mind that doesn't appreciate what the founding fathers set to establish over 200 years ago. We can't think of the government as superior to us in someway, because WE are the government. The constitution is a document that lists the limits of how WE are to govern OUR SELVES; "of the people by the people." If there are abuses in the government, WE are to blame. Because we live in a democratic republic (majority rule) we needed a way to prevent the majority from tyrannically ruling over the minority, hence the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights establishes the things that the government (the majority of us) cannot take away from the citizens (individuals) of this united nation. The second amendment WAS written with the understanding that a free society must be protected by an armed liberty-loving populace; to protect us both from foreign and domestic threats to our liberty. This is clear when you study the writings of the founding fathers. There should be no doubt why the founders wrote the second amendment. In 1787 Noah Webster said, "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed... The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be raised in the United States' Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power "to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive." If an individual or group serving in the government attempts to operate outside the confines of the constitution, they are not obeying the law of the land. If for some reason the citizens of this country are unable to correct this misuse of authority, and all peaceable alternatives provided in the constitution to rectify the issue are exhausted, then the citizens are left with no alternative but to take arms to re-establish the delicate balance of our free society. In this country, defense of the constitution (whether by force or peaceably) would not be revolution or insurrection, it would be defending the established law of this land. George Mason's quote (of a quote) is a perfect example of the fears the founders had of allowing the citizens of this country to be disarmed.