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busij44
04-27-2010, 03:24 PM
> Interesting take and one you don't hear much. . . . . .
>> >
>> > As the Supreme Court hears arguments for and against the Chicago,
>> > IL Gun Ban, I offer you another stellar example of a letter (written
>> > by a Marine) that places the proper perspective on what a gun means
>> > to a civilized society.
>> >
>> > Read this eloquent and profound letter and pay close attention to
>> > the last paragraph of the letter...
>> >
>> > The Gun is Civilization
>> > by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
>> >
>> > Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason
>> > and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice
>> > of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding
>> > under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of
>> > those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
>> >
>> > In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact
>> > through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social
>> > interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is
>> > the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
>> >
>> > When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to
>> > use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate
>> > your threat or employment of force.
>> >
>> > The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on
>> > equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on
>> > equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on
>> > equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The
>> > gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers
>> > between a potential attacker and a defender.
>> >
>> > There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of
>> > bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be
>> > more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a
>> > firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of
>> > course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly
>> > disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity
>> > when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
>> >
>> > People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by
>> > the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite
>> > of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a
>> > successful living in a society where the state has granted him a
>> > force monopoly.
>> >
>> > Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal
>> > that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is
>> > fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations
>> > are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming
>> > injury on the loser.
>> >
>> > People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't
>> > constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take
>> > beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact
>> > that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the
>> > weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the
>> > field is level.
>> >
>> > The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an
>> > octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply
>> > wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal
>> > and easily employable.
>> >
>> > When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight,
>> > but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means
>> > that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because
>> > I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't
>> > limit the actions of those who would interact with me through
>> > reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It
>> > removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is
>> > a civilized act.
>> >
>> > By Maj. L. Caudill USM C (Ret)
>> >
>> > So the greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally
>> > armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.
>> >
>> >
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Dick.Breakey
04-27-2010, 05:02 PM
great read. and the last sentence is great

DMG
04-27-2010, 05:50 PM
So the greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally
armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.

We need to remind our government of this.

jlovbasz3
04-27-2010, 09:41 PM
Right on!

Lumpy
04-28-2010, 10:53 AM
Totally agree!!!

abrzrkr
04-29-2010, 02:27 PM
I have my carry permit, and I do.:icon_winkle:

Lumpy
04-29-2010, 04:41 PM
I carry 90% of the time.

YJBIZ
04-30-2010, 12:00 AM
True!