Whenever there’s a demonstrably horrifying event like 9/11 or Tucson or Sandy Hook, a debate begins in earnest over who or what we should blame and what needs to happen next. And one of the central speed-bumps on the road to further gun control legislation is the fact that gun defenders have all-too-often skewed the discourse away from firearms and focused the blame on, well, anything else. It doesn’t matter what, just anything that’s not the American gun culture.
What specifically do I mean by “gun culture?”
There’s an almost historical, genetic aspect of Americanism that’s synonymous with guns. Somehow, perhaps because of our revolutionary founding or the glorification of war or the romance of Wild West or all of the above, guns have become embedded in our national DNA, perhaps more so than any other industrialized nation. Due to effective marketing and lobbying, gun ownership has evolved from being a frontier necessity to a creepy, penile, Freudian symbol of masculinity and power. American guns have become unmistakable displays of virility and strength — of aggression, resolve and heroism. [continue reading]
