On militias: Any force of private citizens can band together and call themselves a militia. And if they happen to regulate themselves well, then they'd be well-regulated, wouldn't they? If the government needs oversight on private citizen militias then they wouldn't be militias anymore. They'd be state-managed armies. And in order to have a militia consisting of ordinary citizens, these citizens would need a means of arming themselves. A militia without a means to fight is hardly a practical militia.
And to presume we don't need militias or guns anymore is to take one's own national security for granted. It doesn't hurt to appreciate the security and prosperity most of us have now, but it does not take much to throw a country into chaos. And it's terribly easy for most countries for militaries to overthrow their civilian leadership. Heck, stuff like that is still going on today.
Being prepared for the worst case scenario is not a bad thing, even if said scenario is far off or highly unlikely. Not being prepared, on the other hand, isn't wise. And, frankly, a little presumptuous.
Cahlee said:
SimuLord said:
Cahlee said:
Besides being brutally fucking obvious, what point were you trying to make there? I rather like having the option to inflict death on someone under certain circumstances like, say, someone trying to break into my house and threaten my family, my life, and my property. There are certain cases where a 12 gauge shotgun needs to be used to make a point.
Does this mean that I (or any reasonable non-fucked-up person) am going to walk into my friendly neighborhood Catholic church on Sunday and shoot altar boys simply because I am allowed by law to protect myself and those close to me? No, and the big key here is that
an armed populace is a safe populace precisely because it levels the playing field between decent people and violent crazy people (to say nothing of the government---lord knows for awhile there a revolution was a pretty damned plausible option and depending on how the next few years go it still might be one.)
How could you POSSIBLY argue with that? Here was I thinking that I had masterfully chosen a concise sentance that people could accept as true without arguing with me non stop. Guns do equal death. I'm not going to bother to go much further with this because I had a similar horrible conversation last night. This is my opinion, guns are bad. The world would be a better place without them. Gun restrictions should exist if only to keep gun owners and their families safe. I do realise that it is only one part of the problem. And I'm entitled to share my opinion.
The idea that only "guns" are bad is not a new sentiment. Half a millennium ago, it was crossbows that were considered bad--as in immoral, and ban-worthy. The idea was misplaced then and it is now. Getting rid of all the guns and bombs in the world would not stop people from killing each other. They'd figure out new ways to kill people, believe it or not.
Guns kill. Knives kill. Pillows kill. Cars kill. Planes kill. Household chemicals kill. Pills taken by stupid kids kill. People kill.
If someone intends to kill another person, they will find a way to. If someone acts with sufficient foolishness, they can also kill someone. Sometimes people kill indirectly, with negligent business practices and disregard for workers, consumers, or neighbors.
One person might argue that it's easier to stop a maniac with a knife than it is to stop a maniac with a gun. Another might argue that so many shooting incidents could've been cut short if just a single victim or bystander had a gun of their own.
Increasing gun control in the US won't put a dent in America's culture of violence. Nor will half-baked ideas that guns are inherently more immoral than any other cause of death. Targeting the tool instead of the killer will not change the culture that produced the killer--indeed, this sentiment is the first thing that a reformer's opponents will criticize, no matter how well the tool ban is couched in reasonable language.
Personally? The world isn't a nice place. People live and people die. People also kill, all over the world. For many reasons. The capacity to kill, the will to kill, these are part of why humans have survived as long as we have--we are all descendants of people who happened to survive ages of brutal war and murder. And many of our ancestors have killed, often to simply avoid being killed themselves. Sometimes on the battlefield. I hate to be vague, but this is just how people are and always will be. The only way to stop people from killing is to get rid of the people. (Or mind-control all of the people, removing free will from the equation--and, possibly, stop them from being "people.") And since I strongly disagree with that sentiment, I'm of the opinion that one should take the world for what it is.
And just deal with it. Don't think about how people should be, just deal with how people are. Human nature has not changed, we have just learned how to better deal with it. Which is why we have morals, values, ethics. And why we're comparatively, well, civilized, compared to our forebears. Those of us who live in safe and secure homelands with low risk of war or strife reaching our front lawns enjoy the benefits of that "dealing with" human nature. And we also have the benefit of countries and forefathers who've done mighty unpleasant things to secure our borders and prosperity--some of which involve bringing war and death to other people's doorsteps. No successful, civilized, prosperous state in the modern world is completely without the taint of blood on their hands.
Because this is how people are.
To presume to know better than thousands of generations of people who survived in the worst possible, most brutal conditions when one has never been tested in those same situations is simply hubris.
I'd rather just take the advice from some decent folk, folks who might even be worshiped by other folks 'cause they were so decent. That is, simply, try to do good.
(And if you're going to spend time trying to rationalize what "good" is, you're missing the point. Society's already beaten it into you, as part of a collective "dealing with human nature" thing. See above.)
