tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234783319349274920.post8072415868512756851..comments2024-03-27T21:58:46.972-04:00Comments on FOLIO OLIO: WEDNESDAY #1406Ralph Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05079364726250352589noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234783319349274920.post-87492504158461848452013-01-02T13:21:19.788-05:002013-01-02T13:21:19.788-05:00It's also hard to disprove the sentence "...It's also hard to disprove the sentence "nobody would be shot to death if nobody had guns" but that reduces a complex issue to a trite, meaningless observation, huh? The rightness or wrongness of owning <b>anything</b> is impossible to "prove" because it's moral language. It involves one's "faithy" assumptions about reality and the principles built atop them.<br /><br />Pro-gun phrases like the one in your image assume "saneness" can be straightforwardly assured by licensing or regulation schemes. Being somewhat familiar with kludgy bureaucratic American governance, I can safely say that this idea is complete horseshit. If your system of gun licensing involves hundreds of millions of guns circulating around, millions of baddies will get guns. Trying to reduce gun murder by increasing gun ownership seems (to me) like trying to reduce internal bleeding by prescribing aspirin.<br /><br />I'd prefer average citizens didn't go around equipped and trained to kill each other with devices & training specifically aimed at such an end. Square-shaped holes tend to get the square-shaped pegs, etc.<br /><br />... but then I do come from a Christian background and I retain some of those ethics. I like some of the Sermon on the Mount, for example — the turning of the cheek and such (not that I'm a strict pacifist). Since I'm talking about my namesake's work I might as well say that very few self-titled Christians appreciate Matthew 26:52, let alone integrate it into their worldviews.<br /><br />In reality handgun banning isn't a big priority of mine (I used to own handguns before I changed my mind on the ethics, and I'm not broadly anti-gun). I'd rather Jane Public didn't have a handgun, but I think addressing our prison systems and drug laws would more meaningfully change the horrible everyday violence that nobody ever hears about (which is most of it). Given the Supreme Court's stance on the 2A, prison and drug-law reform seem a lot more practical.<br /><br />Also, your daughter's right. The availability of energy and potable water are huge looming problems with no straightforward solutions (scientific or otherwise). Still, looking for scientific solutions is a helluva lot more worthwhile than praying for a bounty of coal!<br /><br />Also also, Patrick Stewart is magnificent.Jambehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06373677455129413039noreply@blogger.com