Quote:
Originally Posted by Twosugars
But why do Americans need guns in the first place? At what point, for an average civilian, is a gun necessary to lead their lives?
The argument that the country was founded on guns? That was back then and now is now. Back then they had native Americans to kill to steal their land. What's the excuse now?
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It comes down to our founding philosophy.
The overarching ideal is not just about guns or even tyranny. 2A itself is about self-preservation (that could also mean feeding yourself) as much as it is linking to our founding desire to be independent of the state and hold the most power over the state. This means we are freer as individuals, but on the other hand, we are solely responsible for our way in life and consequences as individiauls. Because we are sovereign and therefore there isn't as high of a dependence on govt... so theoretically, it wouldn't need to grow any larger than is fundamentally necessary for society to function. This is where conservative ideals largely are based upon, this founding philosophy of individualism.
If we are dependent on ourselves for protection for example, then we don't need police the same way as we would need them in areas where there are stricter gun control. But in general, the idea is that more power (not necessarily defense capabilities) stays with the people, and less with the govt... 2A was put there to ensure that we wouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security again as a safeguard... like we were during the revolution. Many of the people in colonies wanted to pursue a new quality of life, one they crafted themselves, 100% on their own terms, to be completely free to make their own choices... and so the idea was that they did not want a big brother to be involved in how they conduct their business, thus has shaped our independent spirit as a nation.
For example, in states that have very strict gun laws, they tend to have a militarized police force, more laws, more regulations to accommodate. As they are more reliant on the state for those needs, their encroachment and footprint into daily life is much more palpable, their taxes are much higher, and their rights are fewer. And that tends to extend beyond security... it tends to lead to govt dominating other facets of life as well. (edit)
But many people here feel we should only be accountable for ourselves. We don't need a govt or other people to come in and tell us how to conduct our business. That's the concept of protecting the "good guys"... that just because there are a few bad guys, doesn't mean we want our rights to be removed. We can and
should self-manage, as we had since founding and it's shaped our culture to be stronger as a result. So certain segments of govt growing too large or interfering in our lives is highly controversial as it contradicts basically the foundation of our traditions. Yes, there's a rise in certain crime as a result of this higher responsibility on the public, as we see more gun crime to some degree, more poverty due to being responsible for our own choices, etc... but there is no systemic failure if there is no overarching system in place there to help "manage" everything ... that's why these ideals are so contentious and controversial throughout public discourse... it's just people have forgotten why we have the rights we do or aren't being taught the significance of certain history (yay ****ty education) beyond "guns go bang" "so what if I don't like guns that go bang?", etc
Our constitution was never meant for this pseudo-socialist, 200 page bills, huge govt mess. That's why our system is so broken and people are so frustrated. It's also why some people are hanging onto the 2A and will never allow it to be repealed. There are a lot of us who maybe own one home defense weapon and are strongly pro-2A... just because we love our country how it was, we don't want this abomination it's become...