However, what I am sending up in the second and third strands are attitudes which really exist in the US, even if they a minority. I have seen many public statements by NRA/libertarian types that are exactly in that direction, and treat gun ownership in an almost religious way. In fact, there's a member here who fits...Coito ergo sum wrote:The first thing you mentioned is probably just the normal human reaction to reminisce about the old days. But, guns can definitely be fun -- like target practice. And, they can certainly be useful, like hunting for food (which is not fundamentally different than buying a steak at the store).JimC wrote:I detect 3 strands in the American love affair with guns:
One strand is simply the enjoyment of guns themselves; firing them, hunting with them, learning about them, even cleaning them. I share this; when I was a young bloke, I owned a few rifles, and loved hunting rabbits on the farm. I can still remember they smell of gun oil myself... So, I get this strand, and at least a reasonable number of folk around the world would too...
The second is the whole self-defence thing; the whole "criminals better walk softly around me, coz I'm a righteous citizen packing serious heat". This strand is totally surreal to me, although I understand that, in a society with a vast number of hand-guns in circulation, the need for one of your own becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy... I suspect that "alea jacta" applies here...
The third strand is the combined historical/libertarian thing. Citizen colonists fought off colonial oppression using their own weapons, and that legacy has become a truly sacred message to many. Socialism, the new world order and those pesky black helicopters can only be held at bay by that magic amulet, the gun, with the NRA as high priests...
Oh well, one out of three is better than nothing, I suppose...
The second is the myth that non-Americans have about the US. It's the myth that so many people are running around with guns taht we are sort of almost compelled to have our own to fend off the bad guys. This is just what I said, a myth. Most people don't have guns, and of those that do, the overwhelming vast majority of people aren't shooting them at people or threatening people with them. Gun crime is predominently in inner cities and among gangs.
Your third strand makes sense until you get into the whole black helicopter conspiracy thing. I will submit that the traditional American culture was one of a vision of self-reliance and protecting oneself and one's family. The American culture is based on the premises of "Life, Liberty and Property" whereas the English and Canadian culture is more along the lines of "Peace, Order and Good Government." LLP vs. POGG. Your first sentence of the third thread makes a bit of sense, but you ruin it with the second sentence, which is basically a way to sully or demean the idea of historical/liberal attitudes toward self-protection and arms.
(OK, maybe the "black helicopters was one step too far...)
