With regards to guns, I agree. We're a violent society that suffers violent crime and a violent response to crime. And I don't know how to untangle things other

With regards to guns, I agree. We're a violent society that suffers violent crime and a violent response to crime. And I don't know how to untangle things other than to first appreciate the complexity of the situation. I just think it's important to understand that ours is a rather unique culture. Arming oneself is a reasonable response given our cultural values, and I support Americans' right to own firearms for self-dense (albeit with more regulation than commonly required). I hesitate to say it's reasonable in light of our violent crime. Middle-class Americans suffer very little violent crime. The ones who suffer the most, such as in inner-city ghettos, are communities that most vociferously support gun control and the most skeptical of self-defense arguments. But in any event most other cultures take a polar opposite view--that even aggression in self-defense is to be disincentivized--and I appreciate that it's also reasonable.