The American Obsession with Guns

I heard a lot about it when I lived in Europe. It was mostly crap, “oh stupid Ameri-cans, not bright enough to settle things with words, cow-boys”. Not to beat a dead horse, but I am willing to bet in 1945 they were thankful for our stupid cowboys with guns. I think it goes back to our formation. The future Americans had a daunting task in front of them, win freedom, settle a violent and wild land, and protect their stuff from other Americans. Whether we think so or not our society has not changed. Look at hurricane Katrina; law and order was absent for the longest period of time since the early 1900’s. Men and women alike made their own law and order, with a gun. For right or wrong even law abiding citizens, who were not zealots, were packing. Unfortunately its not normally levelheaded gun owners you read about in the news. No we are not conquering forests full of bears and angry natives, today’s wild and violent places are cities and deserted stretches of road. Do I tempt fate, traveling through bad parts of town, or taking a car that will leave me stranded on that lonely stretch between Lander and Casper Wy? No but you bet I bring a gun with me just incase, more so when I travel with people that I love. I’d rather have and not need it than need it and not have it. Incidentally the one time I did break down and would have like to have it, I didn’t, thankfully it didn’t pan out like I thought it would. We like to think we live in a time when we don’t need guns or at least that seems to be what Chicago thought, with their handgun ban. We all know if any people need guns it’s those poor folks in Chicago trying to protect their stuff. Is stuff worth a life, I’d venture to say yes. Where does that slope end? First a man takes your car, then enters your home and takes things, then maybe he takes your wife. That might be flawed thinking but that’s the attitude Americans have. We work hard for an honest living and we’ll be damned if a thug is going to take it away from us. Do we still need guns to guarantee our freedom? That’s the $64 thousand question the country is struggling with. Is the constitution insuring us the right to hunt for the right to arm our selves against our government, it’s an interesting question no doubt. I just bought a new gun, my first brand new firearm. I bought it for three reasons, hunting, protection of Liyah, and myself, and because as a history lover I was attracted by the history associated with lever-action rifles. So while I won’t be using it to win freedom and settle a violent and wild land I can’t say I don’t feel that connection every time I work the lever.