Letters to the Editor
-
ivanveen
1. Wouldn't dream of laughing at game theory; like it a lot, wish I were better versed in the subject than I am. I'm surrounded by economists all day, and my boss quizzes me about marginal utility and transaction costs on a regular basis. Not at all sure that any game-theoretical analysis upholds your gun-regulation ideas. But I'd love to see the game if you have one.
2. I think you and I would agree more or less on what the word "liberal" means, i.e. what we now have to call "classical liberal" to distinguish from "leftist," i.e. Hayek not Pelosi. Most conservatives, Limbaugh included, understand this, and about once every six months Limbaugh or Hannity or, more frequently, Levin will offer a little sermonette on what liberalism really means. Limbaugh is a Reaganite and an admirer of Milton Friedman and, especially, of Margaret Thatcher, so he tends to be more comfortable with the classical usage of "liberal," though of course on a day-to-day basis he uses it in its American meaning of "pansified socialist." (I often wonder whether the anti-Limbaugh types actually listen to his show. You'd think, from the criticism, that he's a raving theocrat, but he's actually manifestly uncomfortable talking about religion in any but the most general terms.) As a columnist, I spent years trying to come up with an acceptable alternative to "liberal" for the lattes-n-socialism types.
3. If you'd like to continue the conversation out of this forum, you can find me at the link.
-
a few last words to tom, and then, on topic!
a swedish catholic! and i thought all you swedes were lutheran. and Ercivan had a history that would lead one to believe he would be behind bars, not a badge! just shows how you can never tell. we are just so very different. still, i am proud of this conversation. we kept at it till we (at least) got to a shrug. those following it know it got a bit harsh at times. but, unlike the anonymites, both of us, when spoken to, spoke back. i think that is particularly american. we oughtn't sell ourselves short. now to topic. i have kept pretty much out of it, i live in a place where no one except the rich, the law, and the thugs have guns. the three times i've been mugged, a gun wouldn't have been of any use. it was invariably from behind, and the time spent conscious was not even long enough to pull the gun. nor do i have that much faith in my fellow citizens. yes, if we were in a classroom or perhaps a mcdonalds full of kids, but me? on a side street late? even armed they'd probably not want to get involved. but maybe it's different out west. what i DO know, is that while having a gun might not make me safer, or even *feel* safer, it sure would make me feel *stronger*. like being young made me feel strong. no one wants to feel weaker. *owning* a gun and not having a self-chosen reason to get rid of it (as husbands and fathers said earlier), i wouldn't want to have it taken from me. like charleton heston said, to cheers, "from my cold dead hands". it's the government enforced *weakening* that is objected to. i DON'T think it should be forced upon them. this is a case where there needs to be education and real research to convince gun owners to not only agree to, but suggest the laws. in a way, it's kind of a part of them. like a leg. sure you can get by in a wheelchair, but really, who wants to? i think lefties ought to be as considerate of gun owner's feelings as they do, say, islamists. when you add guns to gaza, you are *sure* to add to violence but out west? they *already* have millions of guns, yes there's a higher shooting rate than say (sweden) but considering the fire power, not really that much. what people want to feel is *safer* but really, that's one of the things, like anger, that's largely confined to your own mind.
-
Lost the Logic Way Back Then
When I was quite young and first watched mushroom clouds, I was amazed. I remember a serious intellectual process in my 5 y/o brain.
People are good. This big bomb is a bad thing. People worked very hard to invent it. People who are good decided that it was the way to get peace. I am confused because bombing those cities and hurting all those people doesn't look like peace. But the grownups say the men on the boat signing the papers are peace. Okay, I get it. But I don't.
I think the same way about guns. We invented them. We added them to human history. We are good. So if we are good and we invent violent things for good reasons it must be okay that guns exist. Shooting guns must be so we don't have to hit people.
Bang. Bang is fun. I like fireworks. Liking to shoot a gun is fun, like fireworks. So it must be okay to like guns.
So now we have nuclear proliferation and black market nukes and handgun proliferation and ...
I still don't get it. But sometimes naive thought can help peel things back to what they are.
-
Guns n Roses
Guns don't have feelings. They have firing pins and triggers and barrels. You are correct, David, that the ethos of the weilder of said gun, his emotional stability, his inculcated values, are critical. American education these days gives one scant hope. I favor gun registration and gun control. There's no self defense reason to have a 20 round clip. A waiting period and a background check is a minor inconvenienve compared to random street killings. As far as the Swede Catholic thing, I was a later life convert from Anglican,which was my parents' church. I am drawn to Christian mysticism, little appreciated of often mocked in this "culture"; William Blake, John Donne, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton were major influences. Chuck in Walt Whitman for the American part. Yes, the conversation is good, and heartfelt conflict is not inherently bad. Well utilized abrasion sharpens the blade. I fear the love of violence is too deeply ingrained in America to be excised. virginia tech, grotesque as it is, is only different in degree to what happens in every major American city virtually every day, and is nothing compared to what we have visited on Bagdhad and the rest of Iraq. A half million innocent deaths makes 32 pale. They find that many executed bodies in the backstreets of Bagdhad almost every day. Let freedom ring. Unfortunately, it's the ring of a gunshot or an IED. Peace requires patience, and we have no time for that, or contemplative thought, or holy silence.