For the purposes of this discussion, the U.S.A. is considered an Empire. Perhaps not in the classical sense, but our growth and development is such that I think the comparison stands.
The recent (3-4 decades) and current gun control frenzy is the result of our entering a specific "phase" in the growth and decline of an Empire. An Empire is said to go through several cycles in its lifetime:
1. Foundation. Our Revolutionary War and the Constitutional Convention.
2. Expansion. Breaching the Appalachia Mountains, Manifest Destiny, etc. Our Civil War, and the Frontier Wars against the Native Americans.
3. Stabilization. The interim where we run up against our natural borders, and perhaps seek to push beyond them (acquisition of Hawaii, Philippines, etc).
4. Maturation. Tying it all together. Establishment of bureaucracies to administer/control territories (states, territories, possessions).
5. Decline.
6. Collapse.
The gun control craze is the direct result of our being squarely in phase 4, and bumping up against phase 5 due to our flirtations with statist control-mongers and ruinous socialist economic policies.
In phases 1-3, the armed citizen, the "bold frontiersman," was a convenient and cheap(er) alternative to the large standing army the British used to conquer a largish chunk of the world. The "powers" in Washington were content to pay lip-service to the second amendment, as it suited their purposes to have an armed citizenry using their own resources to push the frontiers ever westward.
Where there was no law, an armed citizen was their own law. Where there was no Army, the armed citizen stood sentinel on their own lands.
But now we are in phase 4. Our frontiers are secure, as is our interior (relatively speaking; no one is going to invade us with a military force, even if we are vulnerable to individuals/small groups of dissidents/terrorists). War of expansion/conquest are not the thing anymore. The world has grown small with our transportation and communications networks and infrastructure.
There is no longer any perceived need for armed, independent citizenry amongst the "higher ups" in the economic/social/political hierarchy. The order of the day now is control, conformity, submission to authority, and consensus (group-think).
Compare and Contrast:
Growing up in the 70's-80's, if kids got into a fight, adults/teachers might keep an eye on things to make sure they didn't get out of hand, but otherwise let things sort themsleves out. The attitude was, "Boys will be boys, and boys will fight."
Nowadays, if kids get into a fight, it's almost a federal issue, with cops and judges and probation, etc.
Growing up, if a high-school aged kid said they were going hunting some weekend, a teacher was apt to say, " What kind of gun/scope you got? Got all your safety gear? Have fun, good luck, be safe!"
Nowadays, they alert the Dept. of Homeland Security and Child Protective Services.
Growing up, if said high-school aged kid headed out of his house with a rifle to go hunting, no one batted an eye.
Nowadays, a nervous nellie neighbor will call the cops, and a Police Tac Unit will have his car surrounded before he gets within shouting range of a deer, rabbit, or squirrel.
(Okay, I exaggerate some for effect, but I stand by the underlying truth).
This isn't some old geezer ranting
about the good old days and how kids today are screwed up.
This also isn't intended as CT Woo, or a political screed; please don't take it as such.
It's just a thought I had, about an alternate way of looking at the underlying motivations behind the push for more gun control.
The recent (3-4 decades) and current gun control frenzy is the result of our entering a specific "phase" in the growth and decline of an Empire. An Empire is said to go through several cycles in its lifetime:
1. Foundation. Our Revolutionary War and the Constitutional Convention.
2. Expansion. Breaching the Appalachia Mountains, Manifest Destiny, etc. Our Civil War, and the Frontier Wars against the Native Americans.
3. Stabilization. The interim where we run up against our natural borders, and perhaps seek to push beyond them (acquisition of Hawaii, Philippines, etc).
4. Maturation. Tying it all together. Establishment of bureaucracies to administer/control territories (states, territories, possessions).
5. Decline.
6. Collapse.
The gun control craze is the direct result of our being squarely in phase 4, and bumping up against phase 5 due to our flirtations with statist control-mongers and ruinous socialist economic policies.
In phases 1-3, the armed citizen, the "bold frontiersman," was a convenient and cheap(er) alternative to the large standing army the British used to conquer a largish chunk of the world. The "powers" in Washington were content to pay lip-service to the second amendment, as it suited their purposes to have an armed citizenry using their own resources to push the frontiers ever westward.
Where there was no law, an armed citizen was their own law. Where there was no Army, the armed citizen stood sentinel on their own lands.
But now we are in phase 4. Our frontiers are secure, as is our interior (relatively speaking; no one is going to invade us with a military force, even if we are vulnerable to individuals/small groups of dissidents/terrorists). War of expansion/conquest are not the thing anymore. The world has grown small with our transportation and communications networks and infrastructure.
There is no longer any perceived need for armed, independent citizenry amongst the "higher ups" in the economic/social/political hierarchy. The order of the day now is control, conformity, submission to authority, and consensus (group-think).
Compare and Contrast:
Growing up in the 70's-80's, if kids got into a fight, adults/teachers might keep an eye on things to make sure they didn't get out of hand, but otherwise let things sort themsleves out. The attitude was, "Boys will be boys, and boys will fight."
Nowadays, if kids get into a fight, it's almost a federal issue, with cops and judges and probation, etc.
Growing up, if a high-school aged kid said they were going hunting some weekend, a teacher was apt to say, " What kind of gun/scope you got? Got all your safety gear? Have fun, good luck, be safe!"
Nowadays, they alert the Dept. of Homeland Security and Child Protective Services.
Growing up, if said high-school aged kid headed out of his house with a rifle to go hunting, no one batted an eye.
Nowadays, a nervous nellie neighbor will call the cops, and a Police Tac Unit will have his car surrounded before he gets within shouting range of a deer, rabbit, or squirrel.
(Okay, I exaggerate some for effect, but I stand by the underlying truth).
This isn't some old geezer ranting
about the good old days and how kids today are screwed up. This also isn't intended as CT Woo, or a political screed; please don't take it as such.
It's just a thought I had, about an alternate way of looking at the underlying motivations behind the push for more gun control.
