4 ms·

The absolutism of the second amendment is what is baffling to me. I understand the argument that it is a hedge against tyranny, although I think it is a very na

by kmos17 4y ago

The absolutism of the second amendment is what is baffling to me. I understand the argument that it is a hedge against tyranny, although I think it is a very naive and misdirected one since the role of a free press and our political institutions are far more important to protect us from tyranny in my opinion. These protections also work in other western nations after all, in countries who have strong gun control laws. That is what western democracies have in common, not guns. This gun fetish - that the second amendment is the only thing that can protect us from tyranny - is a smoke screen, and it is stopping us from fixing the actual problems that are leading us to tyranny, like unlimited money and gerrymandering that have completely corrupted our political system. In addition it is being used by outside forces to pitch us against each other, the NRA used to be in support of reasonable gun control. We could retain the second amendment and have reasonable limits on it, it shouldn’t be treated as an absolute right, especially when the cost is so high and the solutions are proven. It’s maddening to see then pretzel twisting logic just to avoid the simple truth that these kind of horrific incidents are the direct result of unlimited access to firearms. That said I agree that billboard sounds in pretty poor taste.

codemonkey-zeta 4y ago
> although I think it is a very naive and misdirected one since the role of a free press and our political institutions are far more important to protect us from tyranny in my opinion I certainly understand that these institutions are more important, but, to play devil's advocate, it could be easily argued that those institutions have already failed exactly because of the unlimited money you pointed out. Without proper protection from those institutions, one could say that firearm rights for individuals are even more important. That said I definitely support reasonable gun control, as long as its implementation did not eventually lead to gun prohibition (another fear which I understand).
- kmos17 4y ago
  The unlimited money is why gun control has become such a radicalized issue, so rather than a last resort because the other more important institutions are failing, I believe it is this radicalization around single hot button issues like the 2nd amendment that are the cause of these failures. That’s what I mean by it being a smoke screen. Convincing a large portion of the population that firearms are the only thing protecting their rights when instituions are failing is exactly what is making us head straight down the road to tyranny. We need to focus on fixing these institutions, guns only guarantee destruction, misery and tyranny. This goes back to Reagan’s « the government is the problem », the government is not the problem, the government is us (or at least supposed to be). But maybe we’ve already reached the point of no return where there is so much money and power at stake that the system’s only purpose is to protect the interest of the people who have it.

by kmos17 4y ago

codemonkey-zeta 4y ago

> although I think it is a very naive and misdirected one since the role of a free press and our political institutions are far more important to protect us from tyranny in my opinion I certainly understand that these institutions are more important, but, to play devil's advocate, it could be easily argued that those institutions have already failed exactly because of the unlimited money you pointed out. Without proper protection from those institutions, one could say that firearm rights for individuals are even more important. That said I definitely support reasonable gun control, as long as its implementation did not eventually lead to gun prohibition (another fear which I understand).

kmos17 4y ago
The unlimited money is why gun control has become such a radicalized issue, so rather than a last resort because the other more important institutions are failing, I believe it is this radicalization around single hot button issues like the 2nd amendment that are the cause of these failures. That’s what I mean by it being a smoke screen. Convincing a large portion of the population that firearms are the only thing protecting their rights when instituions are failing is exactly what is making us head straight down the road to tyranny. We need to focus on fixing these institutions, guns only guarantee destruction, misery and tyranny. This goes back to Reagan’s « the government is the problem », the government is not the problem, the government is us (or at least supposed to be). But maybe we’ve already reached the point of no return where there is so much money and power at stake that the system’s only purpose is to protect the interest of the people who have it.