Friday, May 10, 2013

Too many guns and not enough books...

…is a recipe for a dystopia. 



This shortsighted notion that "the only thing that will save you from a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun", as famously quoted by the NRA prez himself, has so many holes in it I can barely believe it was said by someone over the age of twelve. It's a shoot first/think later, vigilante mentality that leaves all sorts of room for mistakes, accidents and collateral damage. According to the NRA, though, it's the price of 'freedom', whatever that means anymore. We're certainly not free to just drive a car whenever we feel like it. Drivers are required to first go through testing and licensing and insurance before they can get behind a wheel. Why is AAA not up in arms over this? It punishes law-abiding citizens! No one is free to write their own medical prescriptions, or marry, or build a house, or fly an airplane, etc etc etc, without some form of certification or registration involved. It should not be such a leap for guns to be treated with the same sober respect. And I don't buy the argument that 'criminals don't follow the law'. Of course they don't. That's the whole nature of the criminal. Laws are still a necessary part of civil society, though.

When you flood the place with guns so that everyone has unrestricted access to them, there will of course be plenty of armed bad guys to shoot. Why would the NRA want to limit that which their very existence requires? The pro-gun lobby is like a teenager with a superhero complex. It's comic-book logic based on paranoid fear-mongering and nothing close to common sense. One look at images from last weekend's NRA convention in Houston and you'll see something more akin to a rock concert than anything remotely rational. Entertainment is what it was. Entertainment with the sole purpose of exploring the most efficient ways of killing people.

Most people would agree that a thoughtful and mature society, as still imperfect as it may be, is the best kind of society to live in. So why, then, not actively work towards creating and supporting that kind of environment instead of an hysterical one that fosters a fear-based war zone. If the pro-gun lobby were to spend their budget promoting literacy, say, or tackling poverty, just think . . .

7 comments:

anarmchairbythesea said...

Agreed! This post makes so much sense. I live in the UK, where the gun laws are pretty tight, and yes people still shoot other people, but much less often!

When I was a kid I used to think it was silly to have an army, because the only reason to have an army is to defend yourself from all the other countries' armies. If nobody had an army then nobody would need one. I'm not saying it's the same with guns, but 'everybody needs a gun to protect themselves from the people with the guns' is just silly and hysterical.

Trish said...

Yes, it ends up creating a never-ending loop. There's never going to be a perfect solution, but why not at least put some sensible measures in place like we do with everything else? The statistics are so clear that countries with gun-control have vastly fewer gun deaths than the US. It's alarming to think they're okay with this. The tide appears to be changing, though. One can only hope the powers that be have the guts to put some common sense laws into place.

Connie said...

Very powerful ad, in my opinion. I am so with you on this. I wish more people could just use some common sense.

Trish said...

Daisy - I'm baffled as to where the common sense is these days.

Nan said...

Incredible ad. Made me stop in my tracks. Amen to your words, but I don't think it will ever change.

Trish said...

Powerful, isn't it? The image displays just how warped this thinking is.

Alexis @ Reflections of a Bookaholic said...

Wow! The ad is very powerful. It certainly made me think. Your post is probably the most logical and well-written argument that I've heard in a while. It seems to be such an emotional debate. I feel like people care about winning/not losing more than the issue at hand. Glad you put your thoughts out there.