General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The 2nd Amendment was NOT written "to protect us from our gov't," FFS... [View all]reeds2012
(91 posts)Last edited Mon Dec 17, 2012, 04:54 PM - Edit history (2)
"These are the real spirit of the second amendment, not the paranoid nutnicks hoarding canned goods and wearing camo and muttering about the President setting up FEMA camps and conspiring to take their gunz away."
After #Sandy, no one can be admonished as a "nut" for "prepping" and having enough food to sustain one's family through hardship. #McDonalds and #Carl's Jr are not real food. The 'instantaneous' mechanisms of corporate capitalism are not reliable at all times.
I enjoyed reading through the connections of your arguments, but we should also look at the entire historical context, as you say.
Consider...The Declaration, written by and through the historical context you invite us to immerse ourselves in, declared that we, the people, should be able to throw off tyrannical government. Jefferson also said watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants and patriots every few decades could be seen as an imperative. You overlook that context in your above argumentation. I'm not arguing for bloodshed, just pleading for you to have a holistic historical analysis. The founders had a much different view of gun ownership than your reductive cherry-picking alludes.
The issue is unfortunately very complex. Guns are lethal. They take away loved ones. Sometimes even children. Who cannot shed tears after what recently happened? But who can also not see the value in a single mother equipped to take out the drugged-out thief and rapist breaking into her home and attempting to violate herself and her children? Who among us wants to mount a billboard on our residence that says in huge letters: "I do not own any guns. The nearest cop will arrive 45 minutes after I call 9-1-1. Please feel free to break into our home, steal our belongings, and rape each and every one of us to your heart's content."
Yes, guns are designed to kill. Different than a car, which can also kill, but is designed to move a person from A to B. The problem with these types of comparisons is that they, too, are also too reductive. The mouth is not only designed for talking. It takes in food, it can satisfy sexual functions, . And likewise, guns are not only designed to kill, but to instill fear in the criminal that s/he should think twice or thrice before breaking into a responsible citizen's home and brutalizing the vulnerable who would be even more vulnerable if a full gun ban were to be imposed, as many are calling for.
The issue isn't as black and white as many are making it out to be. We live an increasingly sick and perverse nation. At times owning a firearm is the only safeguard against the mentally ill, like we saw this year in Connecticut, Aurora, Oregon, etc. And what was the solution in Conn? Calling in the SWAT, armed with ... guns.
My take.