For John, BLUF: We are a diverse nation, with diverse interests, as it should be. Nothing to see here; just move along.
On City Life this AM the "Guest" was US Senate Candidate Brian Herr.♠ One person Texted in asking about the Second Amendment. Another contacted the Producer [Mr John McDonough] to ask about hunting.
I thought the Hunting question was interesting. It touched on a cultural nuance, a segment of our society. It brought to mind the book on how the Democrat Party had lost its roots and lost many rural voters, Dear Hunting With Jesus. Both Brian Herr and I are originally from Western Pennsylvania and hunting is a big deal there. Brian talked about how the first day of hunting season the local schools closed, as high schoolers went off with their Dads to hunt meat for the winter. I am a couple of decades older than Brian, and I remember my Father telling me about how the Steel Mills in Johnstown shut down for the first day of bear season.
I am not sure what the person who asked the question was looking for, unless it was to make the point that in large parts of our nation hunting is a big deal and restrictions on Second Amendment rights can crush that part of our culture.
Frankly, I have never hunted, but I owned a 22 Rifle in High School (Rifle Team) and have shot skeet. When I was young my Father took me out on the Atlantic for fishing.
I know a local woman with a Concealed Carry Permit, because sometimes she carries money and wants protection. I know a local man who does competitive shooting as a sport. There are many reasons to own a gun. But, as Mr Herr noted, the Second Amendment is not about the right of every citizen to own a nuclear weapon.
That said, in my mind the Second Amendment is a sort of weapon of last resort in the event the Government goes off the rails. I doubt there will be a need any time in the future.♥
Regards — Cliff
♠ Mr Herr, pronounced "her" told me that while his parents came to the US from Ireland, and thus they were Irish, at some point his forefathers, or some of them, had come from Germany and the "Herr Schmidt" type name had been contracted to "Herr". Like my late friend, Bill Tuel, who was really Bill Toole, but his family had gone to France during the "Flight of the Wild Geese" and his name had taken on a French spelling.
♥ For the person in NSA who is looking at the print outs, I am not some sort of a gun cult person seeing tyranny just around the corner. I don't see any threat from the US Government, now or in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if we lived in Mexico there might be some need of one kind or another. For example the villagers who have armed themselves to fight the Cartels. And in the last Century rebellion against dictatorship. And in the Century before that the fight against the French, who had invaded and taken over the Government of Mexico.
I think that the results of the Nov 4 event may well change the outlook you suggest. I am not advocating nor hinting at an armed rebellion, but ultimately, some day, it might well come to that. Here's my point of reason. Political views have become more polarized than anytime in recent history with the dominant party made up of and relying on the shrill demands of the wants. A win in Nov 4 will only reinforce the "rightness" of that philosophy, leaving the haves in a more vulnerable position, relatively speaking. Ultimately, there will come a red line of sorts between the two factions at which the haves will refuse to divest themselves to the wants. Conflict will occur. Perhaps it will be a simple matter of separation of the states so to speak, or it might well be a violent resistance.
ReplyDeleteThe liberals see the 2nd amendment as an impediment, a threat to their march to utopia. Conservatives generally take the opposite view....allegedly. In the final analysis, possessing a gun as a right is a big deal, if only to protect oneself for the things or people who would deprive one from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
For all the dark net snoops, I am not nor have I ever been an advocate of violence, particularly against my constituted government. My observations are just that, the world as I see it and the reasons behind it being that way.