Question:
Would Jesus carry a gun?
(I realize this is all a bit off the wall for me,
but I am ruminating about an email conversation
with a family member re: gun control and the religious right.
Here is an excerpt from my part of the story:
I don't understand how anyone who is a follower
of the teachings of Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King,
to name a few, would believe that we have a right to carry
an assault weapon. As an educated, well-traveled,
adult woman who has seen her fair share of the effects
of violence, drug use, life in an inner city neighborhood,
alcohol abuse, mental illness and poverty --
I will stand at the side of those who put down
their weapons and say "Enough.")
Aha! Now you're talkin' (or should I say, "askin'"?).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thanks for the nice post on my bruhaha blog. I DO appreciate it!
xoxoxo
Hi,
ReplyDeleteNo Jesus would not carry a gun.
And if you allow me to rant a little, neither should Americans.
The right to keep and bear arms may have had some relevance 200-odd years ago when you guys were fighting the British and despatching trespassers, but it means nothing but a whole lot of trouble now. No civilian should own a gun.
I absolutely hate what is becoming of my city because of handguns crossing the border into Canada.
Hazel, thank you for ranting! I'm in complete agreement.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, maybe you should ask bacon
ReplyDeleteThe Second Amendment confers the right to bear arms in the context of "a well regulated militia." Although the precise meaning of the Second Amendment has been the subject of endless legal debate, one can certainly take the defensible position that the existence of the National Guard (the well regulated militia) fulfills the guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms.
ReplyDeleteTofu: you are funny! (And I will state outright that Bacon does not carry a gun. If Bacon carried a gun, Bacon would not be Bacon. Bacon would still be Pig, gleefully rooting about in the mud. Perhaps we should allow Bacon to arm itself. But, alas, I am anti-gun and pro-bacon. [Oh my, this is getting a bit complicated!])
ReplyDeleteWell said, T. And the concept of "defense"(which many people use to defend gun rights) leaves out an important part of the picture: if the crazies didn't have guns in the first place, there would be less "need" for them in defense. Also, I must say this: anger and rage, etc. are very normal human emotions. We humans are flooded with such feelings from time to time, crazy or not. If we all carried guns, the consequences of those waves of emotion are likely to be much worse than, say, if we all simply carried big sticks. It's a risk for all of us, really. Who among us has NOT felt that sort of fury? Most of our brains have a strong enough executive function to hold down our impulses... but still, we are all animals to some degree, and need to understand our animal nature enough to protect ourselves and others from those moments. To do so is an example of a highly evolved HUMAN aspect of the complexity that represents us. To be one sided about it: "we are humans" no, "we are animals" is to dangerously ignore the other.
ReplyDelete(early morning rant..)
Melinda, a great point about "big sticks" and the consequences of rage/anger vis-a-vis gun-ownership. Thanks for the thoughtful input.
ReplyDeleteFound Paul answer very thought provoking. Why is this not out there more in all of the debates?
ReplyDeleteBacon may be getting paybacks what with all the swine flu etc. I'm just sayin.'
ReplyDeleteps. Jesus wasn't some kind of flower child. He got pretty pissy when he drove the dollar store out of his temple.
RK -- I'm not a bible-banger in any sense of the word, but I'd like to believe that Jesus was human (as opposed to the son of god) and displayed some human emotions while doing his temple-purge.
ReplyDeleteeven mrs president is on the media hot seat over her right to bare arms. scandalous distractions from the real issue, but no matter how it's written...
ReplyDeleteoh sorry. it IS a serious discussion you've got going here. noteworthy to me is that, despite what may be agree to disagree, you are able to have the e-discussion with family. keep sight of that, too.
Anon., good point! And an e-discussion is, in many ways, easier than a face-to-face. It's tricky to edit an in-person conversation!
ReplyDeleteJohn Carlson sez if the folks who were the prior muggees of the punks who killed Tuba Man had had handguns, Tuba Man would still be alive. Uh, because the punks would be dead instead, I guess. Dirty Harry would approve. Then there's this week's story about the woman who shot dead some sad sack who followed her off the bus. Wonder whose life SHE saved by drilling him? Judge, jury and executioner! What lesser behavior would have merely gotten him shot in the knee, say? Also this week's macho man who shot up a house full o folks because he was pissed at his ex. Yup, I shore would feel safer if EVERYONE had a rod.
ReplyDeleteNot.
And John Carlson thought he could be our governor. What a guy.
ReplyDelete