The Riddle of the Gun
Sam Harris thinks outside the box. Methinks he truly is an original thinker … one who contributes to discussions with viewpoints that go to the heart of the matter, and more often than not with angles that may surprise and/or challenge. So it is here … Harris has a bunch of podcasts in his Waking Up series, this one “The Riddle of the Gun” tests my stance on gun control and guns per se.
Listening to his talk I learned there are issues on the subject I hadn't thought through thoroughly (thanks for the phrase, S. Colbert). I am ardently against guns: Guns kill, are stupid, I wish guns would disappear from the face of the Earth ... Harris is clear about one thing: Guns are part of (the American) society, get over it and get a grip.
smooth, shiny ... fits nicely into your hand; just like a piece of jewellery
His argument runs something like this: Some people like guns (including himself), just as some people like jewellery ... whatever. I said in my essay GUNS: Guns kill. Harris says (as does the gun lobby): It's not guns that kill, it's the person shooting the gun who does the killing. He then goes on to say basically two things:
1) People who have access to guns must be trained exemplarily ... furthermore, he makes a strong argument for self defence (a subject close to him, since he receives death threats regularly)
2) To get a gun license must be as hard - if not harder - than getting a pilot's license; i.e. he advocates gun control in the extreme ... more extremely than any commentator or politician in the US currently
Listen to the podcast. If you are against guns, it will be tough. If you're for guns, it will be tough too. (He begins with a side-note on atheism [up to 11:11] very interesting.) I've blogged about guns before - blog 526
Sam Harris is well and truly on my radar; read blogs: 411, 412, 417, 418, 422, 426