10-03-2009, 01:35 AM
Well, it's a conundrum. Here's how it goes: The more guns there are in Hawaii, the more likely it is you will need to defend yourself. The guns are, so to speak, the spark that ignites the latent violent tendencies in American culture. If hand out a hundred million guns on the street in Canada or the Netherlands, the murder rate will go up zero percent. If you hand out a hundred million guns on the street in America, I recommend that you flee immediately to Canada...or to Hawaii (nominally part of America). Culturally, Americanism has not completely taken root in Hawaii. It is an invasive species. Island culture has it's own unpleasant aspects but they are, generally, non-violent. And so my recommendation is that we not mix guns with American culture. When you do, you have guys with loaded guns standing outside the hall where the President is speaking despite the following: Assassination of JFK, Assassinatin of MLK, Assassination of RFK, attempts on life of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan.
In this culture, the more we love guns, the more we have to fear and the more likely we may actually need one for self defense. That's because we live in a society where we love a brand of "freedom" that borders on anarchy. The freedom to live in a gated community, as many do in the Phillipines for example, is not much freedom at all.
And so the ironic fact is that if you want to be protected from gun violence, you must stop wanting a gun. It's a subtle, zen concept. Hard to grasp. I almost don't believe it myself. But we must want to live in a culture where there are no guns while we still have the right to have a gun. If we don't have the right to have a gun, then we are deprived of the important decision not to have one. Only when we make that decision on a personal level and only when millions of Americans make that decision will the levels of gun violence go down. We go insane about the right to have a gun, but no one ever mentions the right NOT to bear arms. That is also protected by the constitution. No one is obliged to have a gun. The opposite is true in Switzerland for example. Everyone MUST have a gun, in order to constitute a well-ordered militia.
In the meantime, while we ponder the koan of the freedom to not have what we you are entitled to have, here is a a partial list of the fearful things that having a gun won't defend you against:
In this culture, the more we love guns, the more we have to fear and the more likely we may actually need one for self defense. That's because we live in a society where we love a brand of "freedom" that borders on anarchy. The freedom to live in a gated community, as many do in the Phillipines for example, is not much freedom at all.
And so the ironic fact is that if you want to be protected from gun violence, you must stop wanting a gun. It's a subtle, zen concept. Hard to grasp. I almost don't believe it myself. But we must want to live in a culture where there are no guns while we still have the right to have a gun. If we don't have the right to have a gun, then we are deprived of the important decision not to have one. Only when we make that decision on a personal level and only when millions of Americans make that decision will the levels of gun violence go down. We go insane about the right to have a gun, but no one ever mentions the right NOT to bear arms. That is also protected by the constitution. No one is obliged to have a gun. The opposite is true in Switzerland for example. Everyone MUST have a gun, in order to constitute a well-ordered militia.
In the meantime, while we ponder the koan of the freedom to not have what we you are entitled to have, here is a a partial list of the fearful things that having a gun won't defend you against:
- Burglary when you are not home
- Burglaries when you are home asleep
- Guys who pull out in front of you on the Highway
- Guys with guns who are quicker than you
- Lawyers in love
- Tsunamis
- Three mokes with O'o sticks who catch you half naked in an isolated area coming out of the ocean
- Poorly washed lettuce
- Tom Delay shaking his okole on Dancing with the Stars
- The sun going down on a beautiful day
- The last glass of wine of a doomed romance
- Sea urchins
- Untreated plumes of pee