imported post
This is the finished draft. Again, same idea, read, comment/criticise, what ever you want.
Discuss an example of American culture that exposes the country as being in a state of crisis
“American’s love affair with firearms has long baffled and frightened the rest of the world”
[1]. This is probably a fair assessment by Gordon Robinson. This may well be true, but as the Reverend Ken Pagano of the New Bethel Church in Kentucky said on the subject of firearm possession, “I’m not doing anything illegal, unbiblical or unconstitutional but people still want me to justify it“
[2]. For the rest of the world to understand this view, they must look not just at how they perceive American society today but how that society came to be. From its first settlers to the beginning of the 20[suP]th[/suP] century, the gun has been a key tool in the construction of America. As the tag for Winchester ’73 said, “the gun that won the west”. So where the rest of the world sees a crisis, many American people see firearm ownership as a continuation of tradition. “I carry because I value my life, freedom and history”
[3]
The creation of modern day America and the use of firearms are symbiotically linked. “If it were not for a deep seated belief in the right to bear arms, this country would not be here today”
[4]. From when the first settlers set foot on the ‘New World’ and their conflicts with the native peoples to the romanticised period of the ‘wild west’ the gun has been instrumental. It was how the colonies were able to establish and protect themselves against French aggression and how they were able to finally win independence from Great Britain. America was undoubtedly born from a gun barrel and as she continued to grow, the gun continued to play a vital role. As the frontier moved from the Appalachian Mountains, across the Plains to the Rockies, then beyond to the Pacific coast, the gun was how people survived, it provided a means for people to hunt for food. More than why or how the gun was used, the importance is on who. The men who fought at Concord and Lexington, to begin the War of Independence, were not professional soldiers, but ordinary citizens. The same applies to those that defend towns against British instigated Indian raids. These militia were an important part of early society, they were groups of men who were ready to fight should the need arise. It was the minute men of the militia along with American hero Paul Revere who spread the news of the British movement toward what would be the battle of Concord. This is where the 2[suP]nd[/suP] amendment has its origins, “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” It’s this sense of tradition that many relate to, the idea that this was how their forefathers had freed their fledgling nation. This is why when US citizens state it’s their right to own firearms, because of the second amendment, many non-Americans view it with suspicion, they fail to realise its part of their history, lineage and part of a core belief.
A continuation of this militia mentality, can be seen in the use firearms as a form of protection, be it or self, others or property. Where many countries rely on a police force for protection, America understands that it is impossible for the government to protect every individual all the time and many see it as not only their right but their duty to be ready to defend their nation, state, fellow citizen or self from any form of attack, be it external or internal and as a result, many states allow its citizens to exercise their right to carry firearms both in public both concealed and openly. In 1991, ex-seaman George Jo Hennard crashed through a window of a dinner and then proceeded to open fire killing 23 people and injuring 20 others. A member of the Texas Rifle Association, Dr Jim Brown commented “Maybe somebody could have stopped that crazy guy in there had there been an armed citizen”. It was later revealed that there was a women with a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but had to leave it in her car due to a state law. A common American saying that “when
seconds count, the police are only
minutes away" This situation is a perfect example of this and of the kind of scenario that pro-gun supporters refer to when the talk of defending themselves or others. This mentality may seem strange to other countries, but many Americans see it that the people who carry out theses sort of crimes will do so regardless of gun laws, so why should law abiding people not be able to defend themselves. Two strong opinions voiced by American citizens’ sums this up,
[align=center]“Why do I carry weapons?
Thousands of Americans died in many wars so that I can enjoy the rights guaranteed by our founding fathers with the second amendment.
The police are not responsible for my safety, I am.
The police are not responsible for my family’s safety, I am.
The police are not responsible for the sanctity of my home, I am.”
[5][/align]
[align=center]Many Americans subscribe to the theory that the justification of a right to carry a weapon for defence is backed by the mere existence of police forces, hostage crisis teams, SWAT type units and such, that if a life is worth the police investigating crimes and arresting criminals and having these many tools to deal with life threatening situations, then sure they are worth enough to be able to protect themselves.
“Driven by fear of Barack Obama's anti-gun past, Americans bought more guns in 2009 than in any other year on record, yet homicide and violent crime rates plummeted nationwide.
The most striking decrease took place in Washington D.C., which had the lowest number of homicides since 1964 despite the end of the city's longtime ban on private ownership of firearms. Not surprisingly, the city's administration and the anti-gun doomsayers were wrong. As any clear-thinking person knows, law-abiding residents of Washington D.C. are perfectly suited to owning guns for self-defense.
The Chicken Little predictions of mass killings and bloody scenes of gun owners running amok never materialized, and the panic about the presence of guns in people's homes was much ado about nothing.”
[6][/align]
Furthermore, many Americans believe that the constitution is something which supports rather than entitles people to rights given by God. “The right to keep (to own) and to bear (to carry) weapons is a pre existing God given right, that has been supported (not given) by our foundational documents”
[7], that they cannot be changed by any government, because a government is subject to its’ people, not the other way around, this is a core belief. “I go armed because I can and because it is a thumb in the eye of those that believe that men are subject to governments.”
[8]
This is not to say that Americans only own weapons as a result of some sort of paranoia or just because they can. Many Americans take part in firearm related activities, such as target shooting or hunting. Hunting has been an activity carried out worldwide as a means of survival since early man, and in the early years of America this was no different, especially on the frontier and as a result, has stayed a part of the culture mainly as a recreational activity.
Critics may respond that, how can a nation that claims to have these rights and obligations then have the highest firearm related deaths, in 2001 11,127 people were killed in America, the next closest nation being Germany with a reported 391
[9]. Or how in the last 10 years there have been over 30 school shootings in the US. How can a nation not be in crisis when teenagers decide to go on killing sprees in a school? An example that would tug the hearts strings of most was the shooting of 6 year old Kayla Rolland, who was killed by a class mate, when he brought in a gun he found in his Uncle’s house. Now, no doubt this mean gun laws should be re-assessed, but to be tightened or loosened? Logic may seem to say tighten the laws, but if guns were not so demonised, after all it’s only a tool, "guns don't kill people, people kill people", if weapons were to become a common tool in everyday life, and that firearm safety was just another part of growing up, like learning to tie your shoelaces or to look both ways when crossing the road, accidents like this may well be avoided. A world without guns would probably be better than one where everyone is armed. Yet if every decent American waived their right to own and carry a gun as protection, criminals would still commit crimes “Mankind has been committing crimes on each other since Cain killed Able, and all without guns . . . . . A criminal will commit a crime weather he uses a gun or not.”
[10]
Though the question of is American society in crisis remains. To answer this though it is necessary to define in crisis in relation to what. An extreme example would be to say in relation to the current society in Afghanistan or Haiti then America is not in a crisis, nor by the lesser example of Mexico where soldiers are fighting against corrupt police officers. I would argue that, no, America is not a nation in crisis but just as importantly if not more so, s a nation at a cultural crossroads. America has to decide if it is to follow the way of the majority of the developed world and abandon the ideas of weapons being carried freely by its citizens or re-establish the old ways, where the sight of a gun in public was no cause for alarm, when the true spirit of mans god given rights where embodied by all.
[1] http://www.mideastanalysis.com/in-matters-of-the-gun-america-bites-the-bullet.html
[2] http://www.mideastanalysis.com/in-matters-of-the-gun-america-bites-the-bullet.html
[3] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum65/36689.html
[4] http://www.mideastanalysis.com/in-matters-of-the-gun-america-bites-the-bullet.html
[5] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum65/36689.html
[6] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum65/36618.html
[7] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum65/36689.html
[8] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=36689&forum_id=65&jump_to=625101
[9] Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, 2002.
[10] http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum65/36689-2.html
