The lousy job of political reporting.
In the middle of the last century, stories were told of poets in the then USSR commanding audiences of tens of thousands for readings. America was astounded. Poetry? Not rock and roll? Granted, the Soviet Union backed those poets and rock stars were, of course, not allowed to tour. But, I think it is apocryphal. People will gather any time there is something interesting to see.…
Article comments
76 - Jordan Richardson
Dave,
I'm not talking about guns being violence nor am I talking about guns creating violence on their own. Nobody would be so absurd.
The basic problem with your assessment is that you transplanted the word guns where I said violence, which is probably very telling in and of itself. My "reasoning" is as old as time, Dave. People have long studied the impact violence has on societies around the world and have long pondered the question of whether violence continues to breed more violence. It's not unreasonable to assert that question in the least and, to the contrary, it's quite unreasonable to assume that violent acts do not create more violent acts. It's the old argument of escalation.
So no, guns alone are not the sole problem plaguing American culture and its violent imagery. But had you honestly addressed the remaining questions in my post, you might see that, like you, I believe the issue goes far beyond guns. It's just that I'm hard-pressed to see how more guns helps anything come to a resolution and how that helps American society become less violent and bloodthirsty.
So, if you would be so kind, could you explain to me how that works?
77 - Baronius
I think our Founding Fathers would be most troubled at our moral decay. Some would be shocked by the diminishment of religion; others, by the failure of universal education to raise the human spirit. I agree with Jordan to this extent: the number of people who decide to resort to violence is alarming.
Then again, some Founders would be upset by the presence of Hindoos, Negroes, and others of Dark Skin.
78 - Dr Dreadful
Except for Jefferson, who'd just want to shag 'em.
79 - Clavos
Zing,
are bullets that hard to make?
Not at all. One of my dad's hobbies when I was a kid was making his own pistol, rifle and shotgun loads.
Once in a while, my friends and I would steal some of his gunpowder and go down onto some nearby uninhabited gullies (barrancas, in Spanish), and have a ball blowing up rocks and what not.
80 - Arch Conservative
I think our Founding Fathers would be most troubled at our moral decay.
If the trend continues can you imagine how people will be acting two hundred years from now. What would we think of their behavior?