I volunteered for the Obama campaign for two years. Mass-emailed. Phone-banked. Raised and donated money. Registered and rallied a posse of new voters. I strutted Obama garb through street fairs, Walmarts, and faculty meetings to evoke discussion and debate. Mind you, Arkansas is conservative/Clinton heaven; it wasn't easy or fun. I quickly learned to shun that unpatriotic closet-Muslim terrorist hoohoo and avowed to dismiss those potential-voters with glee.
The debate that niggled me was over gun control. I was assured by the conservative quacks on more than one occasion that Obama would take my guns away, come to my house personally and confiscate them. And I was sermonized by pink pistol anti-gun zealots and instructed to "go shoot a wolf from a helicopter [if that's how I felt]." The more it came up, the more exasperated I grew with Republicans and Democrats on the issue. I've come to the conclusion that gun control theory can be as divisive as abortion and gay rights. It's an American political party litmus test. One that can result in excommunication--on either side! Typical conservatives [one can infer] seem to think that drug lords and gang members deserve full access to extremely compact-highly concealable-fully automatic-high caliber-assault weapons, while bleeding heart liberals like me want to take shotguns from duck hunters.
After 2 years of superfluous debate, I've landed in the same place that my boyhood hero Edward Abbey did in the conclusion of his essay "The Right To Arms":
If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military. The hired servants of our rulers. Only the government--and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws.
I assure you, Obama will not revoke your 2nd Amendment rights. He [and I] will protect your right to target shoot for fun [an Olympic sport by the way], to sustain your family hunting wild game, and to guard your home against invasion by the criminal or the tyrant. And this sermonizer also prophesies that, given 8 years, Barack Hussein Obama will single-handedly inspire monumental reductions in inner-city gun violence in America. You don't have to believe me. Just watch and be willing to admit it when it happens. And quit fighting over the 2nd Amendment, the flippin' BILL OF RIGHTS! Gah!!!
Dad and I are going to a gun and knife show today at the fairgrounds. Maybe trade up on a nice, new piece. So shoot me.
--MJF
3 comments:
Nice post, Matt. You're right: definitely too much hysteria and hypocrisy on both sides of this issue.
Just as in those other culture-war issues you mention, gun-control debate in this country functions as political warfare rather than actual debate; the point is never to solve the issue but to stir up voters.
Nice post, man. Hope your holidays are going well. Talk to you soon.
--Sean
hmmm. i guess i sort of agree. maybe i'd go you a bit further. like say guns 'r mandatory. stiff penalties for leaving 'em at home. but the status quo just sucks. and i'd just bet you wouldn't get many nra members to arm everyone.
Post a Comment