The Tennessee National Guard acted with justified force in Memphis when a gunman turned his weapon on them during a patrol, ending a threat that local authorities had failed to contain. Deployed under the prior Trump order to restore order in a city plagued by violent crime, these soldiers upheld the basic responsibility of government to protect the innocent rather than accommodate predators. Such outcomes expose the bankruptcy of progressive governance that treats armed criminals as victims while tying the hands of those who defend the streets. The Constitution's federal structure permits national resources to bolster states overwhelmed by disorder, consistent with the original understanding that the militia exists to secure domestic tranquility. Individual liberty depends on a functioning order where the right to life takes precedence over sentimental restraints on self-defense, and limited government never means helpless government. Cities that reject these principles invite precisely the interventions they decry. Strength, not surrender, remains the only reliable guardian of ordered liberty.