Sandbags for the Slippery Slope: Rethinking Alarmist Gun Rhetoric
Let there be no misunderstanding, I do not advise losing control of the bridle, nor do I advise drunken knife throwing at live targets, the old William Tell. I don’t recommend the rose colored glasses for the grand proof of tragedy, our limited perception mixed with cause and condition, the bodies prone upon the stage. What I do recommend is a sorting out, a clarifying moment, the ability to distinguish this from that, to perceive what motivates and what factors are beyond mortal control.
In this vein, let us uphold the second amendment of the United States Constitution:
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.
First, let’s clarify something important: we, the people, are the militia. In an age of massive dependency, it is difficult for the multitudes to see themselves actively in this role. “No, no, that is someone else’s job” is the common response given the quality of life convenience culture has instilled in the common man as well as the modern state of warfare, but reality isn’t about our convenience. Tragedy happens. Disaster happens. Whether we be forced or volunteer, there may be a day that those who are healthy may need to wield arms in defense of the nation. It is our responsibility to meet that call with competency and love.
In the most dire of conditions, the right to bear arms is the protector of liberty. We act, vote, and uphold what we see as the best and highest good, or at least the most decent of compromises, depending on how idealistic versus how practical we are, but human judgment errors at times, especially under the collective spell, now more than ever, a time undeniably characterized by algorithms obscuring truth in favor of profitable echo chambers, all that we see through our high tech lenses, designed not to help us stand tall and face reality as it is but rather to soothe, comfort, and delight us or to frighten us into unquestioning submission. While there is no problem in finding enjoyment, it is important to understand how much of popular perception is shaped by these algorithms and those people who are behind them. To think that our culture and our beliefs aren’t significantly swayed by such is to be naive. Even so, I do not mean to suggest that I am calling for alarm. Instead, the problem must be laid out in order for us to be better understood the reality that our peace may one day be broken.
The world’s dictatorships rose to power not only from physical dominance, after all, but also from mass ideological deceit. By the time the people detected the failings of the regimes they mistakenly supported, regardless of the dictator, they had already lost access not only to speech and assembly but also to arms. Historically, though some rights may have been partially restored as time passed, once rights have been lost and power puts forth roots, there is little hope for the restoration of the right to bear arms unless drastic, bloody efforts are put in place. Let us hope this slippery slope situation never comes to pass here, but also let us not pretend that it can’t. It is the taking away of each small liberty, after all, that allows the power hungry to slowly dominate ideologically as well as physically. We have a civic duty to protect our nation against that threat regardless of how comfortable and safe we may think we are. We also must honor the love in our hearts for this land and our countrymen by standing up against any legitimate threats to our peace and freedom that may arise.
Still, it is important to note that due to the senseless brutality of the mad, many people confuse the means for the agent and believe guns cause violence, being essentially chaotic and hurtful, rather than the wielders of the guns or that the difference doesn’t matter at all when it comes to saving lives. The truth is that using guns properly requires a disciplined body and mind. Those who use guns for malign purposes don’t care about the legal prohibitions against murder or the injury of innocents. These murderous lunatics use guns because they are a convenient means for their exercise of toxic agency despite the law, which not only prohibits murder and the injury of innocents but also prohibits anyone judged dangerous from owning or using a firearm. It is precisely because they do not care about the law that creating more guns laws doesn’t make sense. If there were no available guns for civilians, killers would switch to different, more convenient means, such as motor vehicles, D.I.Y. bombs, fires, or more up close and personal tools, such as a pillow, poison, or a knife. For people who don’t care about the law in the first place, more laws won’t be a deterrent. The murderous can always find some way to get a firearm illegally no matter how hard the government tries to eliminate guns from the hands of private citizens. More gun restrictions simply make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to own guns.
Marksmanship is a discipline, like martial arts. Both can lead to lethal results if the person suffers from a dangerous mental illness, but both emphasize self-control. When one practices marksmanship, the goal is to control the body and hit the target, which will allow a person to reliably shoot in a safe way, whether the person is hunting, defending the home, or defending someone else. Similarly, when practicing martial arts, the goal isn’t to hurt for hurting’s sake but to control the emotions and first reactions in favor of calm self defense. To act as if the knowledge gained from martial arts instruction couldn’t deliver death or imbue severe hurt would be ignorance. Still, millions of children participate in martial arts instruction year after year because people understand the importance of discipline and the control of the body and mind. Martial arts instruction not only offers people the empowerment of knowing how to defend themselves both in theory and practice but also it allows people to understand their own potential, increase competency, and learn what it is to have self control. The same is true of marksmanship, which is why some families elect to have their children, under close supervision, practice using arms. The popular opinion may be against early arms instruction, but most people will acknowledge the logic of the analogy (firearms: martial arts), especially when applied to adults, even if some people staunchly hold to the idea that defense is someone else’s job. For those who have been victims of violent crimes, I can’t help but think they would concede that having the know how and option to defend oneself is extremely important as the police can not always materialize at the precise moment one may need their help, and in life or death situations, mere minutes can make all the difference.
I also believe that restrictions on semi-automatics are ill thought out. Before explaining the practical aspect of legal semi-automatic use, I do want to acknowledge that safely and responsibly firing at the range is not only a way to develop discipline and skill but also is fun. Having to constantly reload diminishes that aspect of practice. Anyone who does practice marksmanship knows how fast six bullets go and that having to constantly reload takes up valuable time at the range. Practically speaking, by having to reload so often, law abiding gun owners inevitably get less time for exercising their marksmanship, which can complicate matters in self-defense situations. Safety always comes first with guns, and in a life or death situation, a person who draws on a shooter should be confident in his prior target practice and ability to hit the person and thus disarm them. With less practice, the bullet may only graze the criminal rather than stop the threat. While this scenario may seem far fetched, anything that can be done to support lawful citizens’ marksmanship efforts is only common sense.
As the well informed know, one must pass a gun safety test to own a gun, which should be enough to protect children and other vulnerable people. This test has specific questions about the proper storage and usage of guns, especially in households with children. Nightmare scenarios of three year olds taking guns to preschool or elementary age children accidentally shooting themselves is relevant, but these tragedies are the result of child endangerment on the parents’ part. The parents did not properly store their arms, nor did they properly instruct their children on what to do if they where to find an unattended gun. Parents who endanger their children by exercising negligence in this way should face staunch consequences. Another nightmare scenario that comes up are the school shooters, often disgruntled teen or young adults, who care nothing for the law and destroy innocent lives. It is always the person behind the gun who is the cause for the suffering, injury, and death that results from the crime, not the gun itself. As said before, the murderous will always find a means.
I once knew a young woman who lost her best friend in the 2017 Las Vegas Massacre. The story she unfolded of a family going to a concert in Las Vegas and a dream turning into a nightmare pained my heart, and we were both in tears as we discussed the situation. I assumed that the family and she would be against guns. To say the loss of such a young innocent life, along with all the other lost lives, was heartbreaking would be understatement. However, her response, and the response of the family, was quite the opposite. She wished deeply that conceal and carry permits were easier to come by and that more law abiding citizens could conveniently carry guns because then there would have been at least a chance of saving lives that day rather than everyone being like sheep for the slaughter.
It is hard to have faith in our fellow countrymen when malice and incompetence are what gets the spotlight. Without faith, it is easier to feel resentment than love, but upholding the second amendment more than anything else comes down to love: love for one’s fellow man and being willing to defend the innocent as well as the nation that offers us both liberty and opportunity. There are more people willing to follow firearm laws than not. If given the opportunity and the knowledge of its importance, there are countless numbers of people willing to develop their competency if it can save lives. Rather than focusing on the symptom of the malady, the murderous impulse, as a society, we need to start addressing the causes of the problem. Whether it is a mental health issue, the meaning crisis, or a lack of community, in order to see positive change, the problem requires a culture shift, rather than the illogical stripping of liberty. We need to open our eyes to the honorable and just obligations of logical love, for other people and the country itself, rather than allowing a small minority of murderers to intimidate us.
