Guns

The Beretta M9, the U.S. Military sidearm since 1985

I seldom go shooting any more, but I still like guns. They can be dangerous if they are handled carelessly. Note that there are various degrees of carelessness. There is the unthinking kind where a person picks up a gun and treats it like any other manufactured object like a coffee cup or a wrench. Sure, a coffee cup or a wrench could be a lethal weapon, but you would need to put some effort into your actions to make them such. All it takes with a loaded gun is to point it in the wrong direction and just bump the trigger and you have disaster on your hands. It is this ability their ability to unleash mayhem at a moment's notice that requires extreme care by people handling them.

Then there is the other kind of careless where a person is fully cognizant of what the gun they are holding can do, but they just don't care about any of the people they are pointing the gun at. They do not care, they are care-less.

Caring about other people is something pretty much all societies try to inculcate in their people. People outside their society might not get the same treatment. An individual's attitude will have a big effect on who they care for and those for whom they callously disregard. And then we have propaganda blaring hate for the 'enemy'. People can decide whether to be caring or callous, though their conditioning and their emotions may outweigh any attempt at rational decision making.

But back to guns. I was fascinated by them for a long time, and they are still interesting and fun to shoot. I particularly enjoy sorting out the mechanical complexity of their internal workings. A great many people have gone to a great deal of trouble to design and build these things. I like to think I could do it myself if need be, but fortunately there are plenty of well designed and well built guns already available so I can just buy what I want. It is much, much easier to buy one than to have to build it. Sure there is more satisfaction in building something yourself, but I have other things to do, like advise (kibitz) Jack about his latest machining project.

And then I hear the news about the world and the economy and I wonder if I should be buying gold instead of stocks and bonds or real estate, and then I realize that there is another very base reason that people have for holding on to their guns. There is a very real possibility that for no fault of your own, the powers that be will force you into an untenable position. You could easily lose your house, you job, the government  (or some criminal) could steal everything you own, and leave you with nothing. But if you have a gun and some ammunition and a callous disregard for everyone else, and not much care about yourself, you can go out get and what you need. You might not survive, you might end up in prison, but you will know that at least you tried. Of course, if push comes to shove you might not be able to cast aside your conditioning and put on your overcoat of callous disregard and actually do something. But if you have a gun you can at least imagine that you could.