Boys with serious toys

I am fascinated by the (re-)current arms control debate in the United States. 

One particular aspect which distinguishes the present discussion from previous ones is that it takes place well beyond the US homeland. To a great extent that will be due to the media streamed world we live in, but there is more.  

There is nothing new to the tendencies in what the US and other western countries refer to as emerging young and old nations, in grasping occasions to return criticism on how a civil society should best be run.  New is, a widespread and fairly factual view that the US is gradually ceasing its role as world donimant power, be it in economics, finance, science which appears to serve as a pretext to be (dis)allowed to lecture others.   New is, the very remote chance of (the need for) any future US (led) military invasion or rescue operation as we have seen over the past 100 years.

I can understand that after the killing at a school in a small town, people want to seek a total and full abolishment of guns, as much as they would want to run to the nearest armsdepot and get everybody at home a piece of weaponry and a shooting course on top and argue the same at the next parents' meeting at school.  Both arguments would seek to pursue the same objective to avoid such tragedies from happening again.

My tendency would be similar to most Europeans and consider the so widespread practised principle of a freedom to carry a weapon as dangerous as a trigger on a loaded weapon itself.   In Europe we hunt, for food or sports, we have regions where the chances of neighbouring revolt deeply rooted in micro-cultures are much higher than what the general population would wish for.  None of this though has brought societies to push political parties to bring a more popular access to arms into the public debate.

I often argue that in traffic - in most of Europe - we see true democracy, wherein people in inidividual cars constantly make their own rules as and when and on the spot, in speed, parking, by-passing, pushing and pulling on public roads, supported with all the engine power and devices a car owner financially can or wants to spend, to combat the just or unjust manners of law enforcement. 

It's a cultural thing, most car and gun owners will aspire.  And because it's attributable to culture it cannot be and maybe even should not be entirely explained.  Maybe, possibly, or most likely it's also a male thing and will thus prevail as long as there are sufficient females to be impressed by the size and power of our four wheeled or hand held canons.

So it does come down to how cultivated the canon owner is and in that respect there are still a lot of bridges to cross.  If we are to evolve I would expect the active initiative to consistently lie with those who produce and promote the machinery and not at all with those who - consciencly or not - make wrong use of the priviliges.