Guns in America: A Question of Trust

[Trooper]

PJ Media » Guns in America: A Question of Trust

The article focuses on something that I have noticed. We used to trust one another. In fact it was common for soldiers to keep their weapons either by their bunks or in the halls outside the barracks rooms. During Vietnam that trust disappeared.

If we do not trust the people with firearms and other weapons then should we trust them with the vote? Should they then be made 2nd class citizens? If a felon is stripped of gun rights then should he not also be stripped of the right to vote, to hold public office or be a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA, teacher) as those positions are ones of trust?

The left openly expresses a distrust of the people. They see those with a college education as more noble than the masses. In fact they use the college degree as entrance into power and position like the Soviets used party membership. Even have had college kids say that you can not be a real democrat unless you have a college degree. That the masses are unable to run their own lives and thus need the educated to guide them.

[jamil]

Originally Posted by Trooper

PJ Media » Guns in America: A Question of Trust

The article focuses on something that I have noticed. We used to trust one another. In fact it was common for soldiers to keep their weapons either by their bunks or in the halls outside the barracks rooms. During Vietnam that trust disappeared.

If we do not trust the people with firearms and other weapons then should we trust them with the vote? Should they then be made 2nd class citizens? If a felon is stripped of gun rights then should he not also be stripped of the right to vote, to hold public office or be a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA, teacher) as those positions are ones of trust?

The left openly expresses a distrust of the people. They see those with a college education as more noble than the masses. In fact they use the college degree as entrance into power and position like the Soviets used party membership. Even have had college kids say that you can not be a real democrat unless you have a college degree. That the masses are unable to run their own lives and thus need the educated to guide them.

Well, you've hit on exactly what defines "elitism".

Collectivism can't account for the infinite expression of individuality, so it must group individuals into finite buckets. Each bucket fits a class of people. Individuals must be controlled within their respective bucket by rules that define what they are allowed to do and have. Trust is rendered accordingly. Reactive laws don't fit this model very well. For example, unless you fit into a trusted "enforcement" bucket, you can't be trusted with a firearm. So rather than a reactive law making you accountable and responsible for what you do with a firearm, you're simply not allowed to have one.

In contrast, a society that embraces individualism deals with behavioral diversity by defining reactive rules of what is acceptable and what is not. You may own and do what you want, but you have not violated the rules until you've actually imposed on someone else. Individuals can own and use firearms, but they may not murder people with them. You are responsible and accountable for how you use your firearm.

Of course no one but an elitist would prefer the former unless they come up with some bull**** story that you're too unsafe with the latter.

[ViperJock]

Originally Posted by Trooper

PJ Media » Guns in America: A Question of Trust

The article focuses on something that I have noticed. We used to trust one another. In fact it was common for soldiers to keep their weapons either by their bunks or in the halls outside the barracks rooms. During Vietnam that trust disappeared.

If we do not trust the people with firearms and other weapons then should we trust them with the vote? Should they then be made 2nd class citizens? If a felon is stripped of gun rights then should he not also be stripped of the right to vote, to hold public office or be a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA, teacher) as those positions are ones of trust?

The left openly expresses a distrust of the people. They see those with a college education as more noble than the masses. In fact they use the college degree as entrance into power and position like the Soviets used party membership. Even have had college kids say that you can not be a real democrat unless you have a college degree. That the masses are unable to run their own lives and thus need the educated to guide them.

First of all felons cant get a license to practice medicine already.

Second Unlike party membership, college degrees are earned (theoretically). I don't know who you hang out with but I think your views are skewed. IDK anyone who thinks a college degree makes you "noble." While I can see Liberals touting that ****, I've never met anyone personally that thinks it and I spend most of my day around college grads. We do think we know more about our respective fields than those who haven't studied them though, and I think for the most part that is true.

Whats your point? It sounds like you hang out with too many Liberals.

[LordTio3]

I think I know what you're talking about; as it is something I have spoken on for quite some time.

It is the phenomenon of Moral Projection. As humans, we tend to expect of others what we expect in ourselves. We project our own morality onto strangers. TDI Instructor John Benner once told a story about a young woman who was waiting for an elevator alone in a tall building. The doors finally opened and a very large, ominous looking man loomed in the otherwise-empty elevator. The small woman made eye contact with the man, and later claimed, "Everything in my body said DON'T GET ON THE ELEVATOR." But despite her instincts, she got on. The doors closed, and the man attacked her in an attempted sexual assault. Luckily the doors quickly opened and a good-citizen lept into action, stopping the assault as the bad guy fled the scene; leaving the woman with only minor injuries. The good-guy asked the young woman, "If you instincts were THAT strong, why the Hell did you get on the elevator?" She replied...

"Because I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

We assume our stranger peers are all going to share our reactions to everything and that we are de-facto members of a mutually reassuring and reaffirming peer group that maintains our sense of community. We are not. There are all kinds of people and all kinds of evil in the world, regardless of what your criminal record says or whether or not you wear a fine woven hat to work at the capitol.

One thing that always killed me was the phrase, "If we legalize CCW and people carry guns; bar fights will become street fights, and people will be shooting each other over fender benders in the streets!"

My response is always, "Is this what YOU expect because it is the way YOU would behave if someone gave YOU a gun?"

Think about it.

~LT