It’s become apparent to me that the only way to keep from offending someone is not to have an opinion. And I have many opinions so it seems I’m destined to offend everyone sometime. I’ve been called racist, hateful, sexist, hypocrite, homophobe, unpatriotic, communist, ect. These words are thrown around like catch-all shields against opinion people don’t like. The true meaning of these words is lost as those who use them, paint their meaning with a seemingly endlessly wide brush. My wife lives in fear of who she might have to apologize to every time I speak or write something. I think she worries too much, but I love her all the same.
But who I offend is my problem. If I was really worried about offending I would just not speak, or write. I live in a world of opinions and I’m entitled to disagree with them. I am perfectly happy to have others disagree with me. If everyone agreed with me, what would we talk about? Everyone is welcome to disagree with.
So a few examples of how I’ve rubbed people the wrong way.
Racist ~ it seems anyone who sees the negative impact the civil rights movement and welfare (social programs) has had on the poor (and blacks in particular) is a racist.
Sexist ~ apparently believing what God says about women and wives is sexist
Hateful ~ it is hateful to challenge someone’s religion apparently, even though mine is challenged constantly
Homophobe ~ to call sin a sin and oppose sinful behavior is offensive, even though I have many relatives and friends who are gay. We are all sinners. I can love you without agreeing that your sinful behavior is right.
Selfish ~ Apparently all conservatives are selfish and uncaring for believing in personal accountability, and self-reliance. Selfish for thinking a person has a right to his or her property.
Unpatriotic ~ apparently because I think it wrong to send our boys to die for unjust wars, I’m unpatriotic. Even though I served 6 years in the Navy and fully support those I know who are still serving. How dare I want them to be safe from harm unless actually defending our country?
There are probably countless way I don’t know that I’ve offended people. Life is too short to worry about the little stuff. If you know me you know I have opinions. I’m happy to debate anyone about just about anything. Offense is rarely intentional. Knowledge and truth are typically the goals. If the truth and or my opinion is offensive to you, so be it. I think the truth is worth defending.
So to those whom I’ve offended, my apologies. To those who enjoy sharpening their wits and knowledge in healthy debate and discussion, I welcome your engagement.
To everyone else, you are welcome to enjoy the show and laugh, cry or scream at me along the way.
I will soon be the proud owner once again of a desktop computer. Hopefully that means I can re-ignite my blogging, though the reason I'm buying it is for school, which will be eating up my time. We'll see what the future holds for me and my "proverbial pen".
Monday, October 15, 2012
Gun Control
I was recently on a political debate show. The topic was changed at the last minute to ‘Gun Control’. Now I’ll start by saying I’m not the best candidate for a good defense of Gun Control. I own no guns. I’ve not fired a gun since I was married over 7 years ago. I’m not in the NRA, nor do I spend countless hours delving into the innuendos of gun control laws. But alas the discussion continued.
Having been expecting to discuss a different topic I had to shift gears. At one point the moderator asked a question, that quite frankly I didn’t have a good answer for. The questions roughly equates to this: If the purpose of gun ownership as defined by our Founding Fathers is to be able to defend against ourselves against any invader including tyrannical gov’t, bringing that line of thinking forward, in today’s world of nuclear weapons, where do you draw the line? At what point is it fair to say, he shouldn’t own THAT?
Having spent some time since the debate thinking about it, I have a few more thoughts on the topic, though I wouldn’t say a clear answer yet.
If we ever reach the point where our gov’t is threatening its own citizens with nuclear destruction, we have much bigger problems than who owns what weapons.
That being said, I feel we should be able to equip ourselves with the ability to defend ourselves with extreme prejudice. Certainly we all hope we never have to actually defend ourselves with a gun ever, but we should be allowed to arm ourselves to the teeth if we so choose in preparation for a “S!@# Hits the Fan” (SHTF) scenario. Whether it’s the starving looter (pick any riot in the last century) or the gov’t (er go WACO Texas / Ruby Ridge), or simply a robber breaking into your home, you should be able to defend yourself be any and all means necessary to survive with weapons adequate to the task.
We live in a world with little protection. It’s a far cry from the days when cities had moats and walls and forts and garrisons: When ordinary citizens formed militias to defend themselves when needed. I think it a great mistake to dismiss the notion of local militias. An unarmed America is a vulnerable America.
Weapon ownership is not inherently dangerous. There are millions of American’s who own weapons and rarely do you hear of anyone getting hurt. I believe it safe to say the great majority of weapons owners have never injured another human being with them (unless deliberately, such as in time of war). In fact when you do hear of someone being shot it is usually at the hands of a criminal or a Police Officer. The criminal most likely did not obtain said weapon legally, and the cop hopefully is only shooting in self-defense (as we all have the right to do).
Of course there is the notion of “I was cleaning my gun and it just went off”. It is a physical impossibility to discharge a gun you are cleaning. To clean a gun you must disassemble the weapon. At which point it is just a funny looking blunt object. If you “accidently” shoot someone (please note the sarcasm) you have either deliberately fired your weapon, or you have violated the first and most sacred rule of gun ownership, “Treat ALL WEAPONS AS IF THEY ARE LOADED”, followed closely by “NEVER POINT A WEAPON AT SOMETHING OR SOMEONE YOU DON’T INTEND TO SHOOT”. And of course both of these are followed by, “DO NOT place your finger over the trigger until you are ready to pull it”.
I guess my answer is this: I should be able to arm myself with whatever weapons I’m inclined to purchase. And in self-defense I should be able to discharge said weapons at those who threaten my life or the lives of my family. And since our gov’t other gov’ts of the world see fit to build massive OFFENSIVE WEAPONS, we may all need some pretty hefty arsenals.
As for nuclear weapons, the sad truth is the only winner of a war that uses nuclear weapons are those that don’t play. Lord willing we will never see a nuclear war. If we do, I’m not sure I’d want to see the world that remained. It is a weapon that not only kills immediately, but continues to kill for years to come.
Having been expecting to discuss a different topic I had to shift gears. At one point the moderator asked a question, that quite frankly I didn’t have a good answer for. The questions roughly equates to this: If the purpose of gun ownership as defined by our Founding Fathers is to be able to defend against ourselves against any invader including tyrannical gov’t, bringing that line of thinking forward, in today’s world of nuclear weapons, where do you draw the line? At what point is it fair to say, he shouldn’t own THAT?
Having spent some time since the debate thinking about it, I have a few more thoughts on the topic, though I wouldn’t say a clear answer yet.
If we ever reach the point where our gov’t is threatening its own citizens with nuclear destruction, we have much bigger problems than who owns what weapons.
That being said, I feel we should be able to equip ourselves with the ability to defend ourselves with extreme prejudice. Certainly we all hope we never have to actually defend ourselves with a gun ever, but we should be allowed to arm ourselves to the teeth if we so choose in preparation for a “S!@# Hits the Fan” (SHTF) scenario. Whether it’s the starving looter (pick any riot in the last century) or the gov’t (er go WACO Texas / Ruby Ridge), or simply a robber breaking into your home, you should be able to defend yourself be any and all means necessary to survive with weapons adequate to the task.
We live in a world with little protection. It’s a far cry from the days when cities had moats and walls and forts and garrisons: When ordinary citizens formed militias to defend themselves when needed. I think it a great mistake to dismiss the notion of local militias. An unarmed America is a vulnerable America.
Weapon ownership is not inherently dangerous. There are millions of American’s who own weapons and rarely do you hear of anyone getting hurt. I believe it safe to say the great majority of weapons owners have never injured another human being with them (unless deliberately, such as in time of war). In fact when you do hear of someone being shot it is usually at the hands of a criminal or a Police Officer. The criminal most likely did not obtain said weapon legally, and the cop hopefully is only shooting in self-defense (as we all have the right to do).
Of course there is the notion of “I was cleaning my gun and it just went off”. It is a physical impossibility to discharge a gun you are cleaning. To clean a gun you must disassemble the weapon. At which point it is just a funny looking blunt object. If you “accidently” shoot someone (please note the sarcasm) you have either deliberately fired your weapon, or you have violated the first and most sacred rule of gun ownership, “Treat ALL WEAPONS AS IF THEY ARE LOADED”, followed closely by “NEVER POINT A WEAPON AT SOMETHING OR SOMEONE YOU DON’T INTEND TO SHOOT”. And of course both of these are followed by, “DO NOT place your finger over the trigger until you are ready to pull it”.
I guess my answer is this: I should be able to arm myself with whatever weapons I’m inclined to purchase. And in self-defense I should be able to discharge said weapons at those who threaten my life or the lives of my family. And since our gov’t other gov’ts of the world see fit to build massive OFFENSIVE WEAPONS, we may all need some pretty hefty arsenals.
As for nuclear weapons, the sad truth is the only winner of a war that uses nuclear weapons are those that don’t play. Lord willing we will never see a nuclear war. If we do, I’m not sure I’d want to see the world that remained. It is a weapon that not only kills immediately, but continues to kill for years to come.
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