Simpson Column: No logic to gun fears
Published: July 3, 2009
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 4, we celebrate American independence! During this time I hope that Americans will take a few minutes to reflect on how we gained our independence … while so many, to this
very day, are still unable to achieve liberty.
The fact is, we can thank our success on one thing — the individual right to bear arms. If it were not for the firearms owned by private citizens in the late 1700s, the British would have easily defeated us.
Yet so many today are willing to give up this basic right in the hope that government will be there to protect them and will never become oppressive.
Thomas Jefferson wrote “… that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny …”
A couple weeks ago the issue of limiting private gun ownership reared its ugly head again when a piece of human excrement — who I will not give the honor of mentioning by name — got drunk and killed
a duck next to Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant.
This act elicited an Our View editorial by the News & Messenger that queried: “It makes one wonder why people should be allowed guns in restaurants, period.” With the follow-up rhetorical question “Do
we really want a criminal and a patron exchanging gunfire in a crowded restaurant?”
I have heard many accounts of murders in restaurants — I still remember the incident (late ‘70s I believe) of a massacre that took place inside a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Rt. 236 (Duke
Street) next to Interstate-95. Someone walked in and killed many patrons, and no one was armed and able to stop him. Or the event where unarmed people were massacred in a New York subway train,
again where the citizens were unable to defend themselves. So yes … I would rather have a fighting chance than be a helpless victim.
Criminals are going to obtain weapons. If more laws are passed reducing private ownership, crime will increase as evidenced in places like Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. Even in
countries where private ownership is outlawed, criminals acquire weapons.
If guns were the problem, then thousands of deaths would be reported at gun shows. Anyone who takes a minute to shrug off the fear indoctrinated into many by the liberal media will rightly conclude that
most gun violence occurs in areas where people have been disarmed — universities, public schools, places of employment, restaurants, etc.
The Our View piece from June 20 also states that “Guns should be banned from restaurants, plain and simple.” It goes on to suggest that if the government won’t ban guns, then restaurant owners should
post signs banning guns as the law provides for establishments to prohibit them if they desire.
This would only serve as an invitation to anyone wanting to rob a restaurant or its patrons.
The fact that we need a “permit” to carry is already a serious infringement of the Second Amendment. We don’t need to ask the permission of government to practice a religion, speak our minds and
peacefully assemble. Every step that is taking to remove our God given right to protect ourselves moves us one step closer to tyranny. Many are fighting very hard to remove the private sale of guns,
requiring the government become involved in every transaction … as well as requiring that all individuals register their guns. The latter has been used numerous times throughout history to confiscate guns
once those governments realized that their tyrannical nature was inciting a citizen revolt.
From a document issued by the Second Continental Congress on July 6th, 1775 titled Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms: “From thence the troops proceeded in warlike array to
the town of Concord, where they set upon another party of the inhabitants of the same province, killing several and wounding more, until compelled to retreat by the country people suddenly assembled to
repel this cruel aggression.”
These people did not reply to tyranny by throwing stones. Our government is currently diving headlong into financial ruin. You can’t just magically produce trillions of dollars and not have significant
repercussions. You can’t have the government take over huge parts of the private sector and not have significant repercussions. It will not be long before our government turns oppressive.
Freedoms, once lost, are very difficult to regain. Please try and remember why we celebrate July 4 as you are watching the fireworks.
James Simpson lives in Lake Ridge.
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Reader Reactions
“you’re pretty stupid for painting your house with lead-based paint, too.“
Perhaps, but when my parents brought me home from the hospital in which I was born in 1936 there was no other house paint available.
As for eating sawdust and playing with mercury, as most 2-year olds do, even today, I picked a few things off the floor & ground & put them in my mouth & when I was twelve, in 1948, the world wasn’t aware of the effects of mercury on the body. I also ate a bit of sand while living 100 yards from the high tide mark in California, 1950-1952. Sand was everywhere, floors, walls &, ceilings. Beds, bathtubs, & dishes, had to be cleansed of the grit & fine dust before being used. I’ve never had silicosis.
I’ve never said that everything government does is bad, it isn’t. But, government exists to do for the individual that which he can’t do for himself. I may may be old & decrepit, but there still things I can do, & decisions I can make, for myself.
“It’s sad that James Simpson has become so bored with himself and his own columns that he has to invent another persona online just to argue with himself in the guise of a liberal.“
Then it sounds like you’re alone, Al, and in bad company.
“If you aren’t James Simpson then you are inept enough and moronic enough to be him, because he sound just like him, and you’re “logic” isn’t any better.“
Keep talking. One day you may say something intelligent.
“If you are not James Simpson badly trying to imitate what you understand to be your opposite, then you should contact him and propose a ‘mind melt,‘ because your brains are already the same.“
Actually I was thinking that maybe you and I can get together and play horse. I’ll play the front end, and you can just play yourself.
“Let’s have a moment of silence out of respect for Michael Jackson and Governor Palin’s Administration.“
I see. Friends of yours? Now we know that you and Willow both ate paint chips when you were young.
“Al Mostonest
A Name You Can Trust”
It sounds like you’re waiting for a vacancy in The Trinity. You’ll have to wade out of the shallow end of the gene pool first before they promote you to God, Al.
It’s sad that James Simpson has become so bored with himself and his own columns that he has to invent another persona online just to argue with himself in the guise of a liberal. If you aren’t James Simpson then you are inept enough and moronic enough to be him, because he sound just like him, and you’re “logic” isn’t any better. Like Hoffer pointed out in his study of political factions, there is little difference between extremes. If you are not James Simpson badly trying to imitate what you understand to be your opposite, then you should contact him and propose a “mind melt,” because your brains are already the same. Good day. Let’s have a moment of silence out of respect for Michael Jackson and Governor Palin’s Administration.
Al Mostonest
A Name You Can Trust
I showed how failed your logic was between obese kids and the caloric information posted in restaurants, and you were the one who began to attack and criticize, Al. Liberals = Communists = Nazis. How original. Anyone who disagrees with you must be in one of those groups, right?
Willow is an old man waning nostalgic. I see his point, but I happen to totally disagree with him—and you. I’m bad for not seeing the merits of his arguments? Now who’s trying to force his will on a person? Didn’t you read Robert McNamara’s book about forcing your will on someone? Probably the “smartest man of his age.“ He handled Viet Nam brilliantly, didn’t he? The Bay of Pigs was another winner, too.
You say that the government is not the answer. I say it’s not the problem either because it does a lot of good, too. Science flip-flops and you says that’s bad. I say that it’s progress because new discoveries were made. You say Corporate America is evil and greedy. I say Corporate America is paying most people’s salaries and making most of the things we buy. I point out the flaws in someone’s arguments, and you say that I’m “frothing at the mouth,“ “bashing people,“ and “lashing out.“ I say that’s too bad. The truth hurts, and I’m tired of all the nonsense coming from people such as yourself. I know conservatives like to put things into bad guys/good guys, black/white, Yankees/Red Sox, Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker. It helps you to process information, but the world is much more complicated than that, Al. I’m sorry the facts confuse you. It might give Rush Limbaugh an excuse to get up in the morning, but it’s also gotten him addicted to pain killers, too.
Oh, now I get it… You are a LIBERAL! This is your identity, your hometown team, your reason for waking up in the morning. I oppose you on a minor point (respect the rights of people to live their lives) and that makes me a CONSERVATIVE! It’s like talking to someone on either side of the Redsox/Yankees rivalry. It doesn’t matter to them whether their favorite players were just traded from the opposite team or if they got caught taking steroids. The point is only the color of the jersey. Eric Hoffer wrote about this in “The True Believer,” how Nazis and Communists were basically the same psychologically and easily switched sides. You might take a look at some of my blogs before you start frothing at the mouth and accusing me of anything. If you cannot see any merit in Willow’s argument, at all, and all you care about is bashing other people, then you will be harming whatever position you want to defend. Governments can get out of control (the last eight years of the Bush Administration?) and it is by no means ridiculous to insist on self-government on the local level and rights and responsibilities of citizens. What is your problem with that? And no government is all wise, science is always flip-flopping, and we need to focus on bigger issues than your insistence that government is the answer for ALL things big and small. You’re so bent on lashing out, that you don’t even see when someone is basically agreeing with you. With friends like you, Liberals don’t need Rush Limbaugh. You make Limbaugh’s point every time you open your mouth. You are the “straw liberal” that morons like James Simpson love to attack.
Al Mostonest
Please! People have been talking about government infringing on their lives since there were governments. It’s the same arguments Simpson uses in his column. Basically, anything the government does will somehow make life more complicated and take away freedom and liberty. Such fears are laughable and are often associated with people who have real anxiety disorders. The government and liberals are NOT out to control people.
And yes, I am a liberal. The big, nasty L-word used by conservatives to insight fear into those, like yourself and Willow, who believe in conspiracy theories or that basic change is always bad. I’m a liberal because the conservatives don’t need an excuse to resist reason as you suggest. I’m a liberal because resisting reason has become a fundamental tenet of the Republican party, and I can’t be that stupid. (BTW: Ron Paul, the other village idiot from Texas, and the Libertarian party is no better, which seems to be where some of your philosophy is coming from.) What I want is to draw a sharp line between reason and conservative insanity. If I’m right, it wasn’t because I somehow “imposed my view” on you or that I’m trying to “control” you. It’s because ultimately the truth can’t be ignored. Your rhetoric is just another excuse conservatives use to stay dumb and blissfully in denial. “Blame it on the liberals for showing us the truth. We were so much happier when we didn’t know.“ It will be okay. The facts really are not confusing. The first thing you have to accept, however, is that no one is out to get you. It may be hard to accept, but sadly you’re simply not that interesting or important. And if that fact is hard to accept, your doctor can help with your anxiety disorder.
Are you interested in making a point or compelling unconditional surrender on the part of Willow? I, frankly, will be satisfied if the country is not in total ruin ten years from now. Why do you insist on pushing your (Liberal?) agenda on all fronts no matter how trivial? This may be the reason right wing reactionaries still get traction in the public debate and why idiots like Bush get elected. People resent being told what to do, so you’d better be sure you do it for a very good and very important reason. Otherwise, you are needlessly disturbing a hornet’s nest. There is a real perception out there that there are those in government who want to infringe on all aspects of our lives and take away personal freedom and personal responsibility. Why give them that excuse to resist reason? Human beings have to live their lives, make mistakes, and learn by there mistakes. That’s the human way. If you are intelligent and wise, you will see that you can’t control people, and so Willow does not have to make his argument for personal liberty well in order to have the right to that liberty. Robert McNamara just died. Arguably the smartest man of his age, he died bitter because he realized too late that he couldn’t impose his view on the world, and he caused a lot of damage. I know. I was there. Don’t try to be right all the time.
And, yes, to get back on track, James Simpson is still a moron.
Al Mostonest
Actually Willow’s point were not well made at all. Essentially he was suggesting that the government’s efforts to make the ingredients in foods more transparent was infringing on his right to be dumb about everything. If he wants to play with mercury or used lead-based paint in his house, he can still do that. However, it’s not a “dictatorship” if that bottle of mercury or that can of paint tells you that being anywhere near that stuff is dangerous. (Forgive me if I somehow “disparage your life” if I also say you’re pretty stupid for painting your house with lead-based paint, too.) It’s the same logic Simpson uses in his column (to get back on topic). Never mind that many times more children are accidentally killed by firearms in the United States each year than intruders, if the government requires weapons to have to have a safety lock on them, well then our founding fathers will roll over in their graves and anarchy will ensue. Instead it’s easier to ignore the facts and go put our powdered wigs back on. Food is made differently today because there are a LOT more people living today. We also know a LOT more now than back when Willow was eating sawdust and tasting paint chips. As for a bunch of fat kids walking around—that’s EXACTLY why restaurants are required to post caloric information. You’d rather keep everyone ignorant and blame Corporate America instead. Times change. The world is different. Knowledge is power. Those are the facts that need to be respected.
I think we’ve reached a point where we all need to back off. Willow’s point about government interferance, though he is exaggerating the scope, is well made. People need to be responsible for their own lives and have the freedom to act on that principle. The point is that our lives have changed dramatically since the 1950’s and a lot of this change has been brought about by Corporate America trying to make a buck by selling us the illusion of ease and low cost. Unless you insist on buying fresh food and making things from scratch, like we do in our house, most processed food people buy resembles nothing that our grandparents ate, and maybe the governement does need to step in and regulate practices that are affecting our whole population in a bad way. Just look at the size of some of these kids walking around today… But if you take yourself to be a Liberal (whatever that means), consider the need to restrict your desire to control everything from the top down. Right now, I just want to see Wall Street regulated, the mortgage industry, the lobbyists, the military-industrial complex, the big stuff… Better is often the enemy of good, and people need to live their lives and be able to make mistakes. Give Willow a little respect.
Al Mostonest
I suspect herein lies the answer, Ron.
“ I might also have ingested some lead-laced paint chips & I know I handled a lot of mercury, we played with that a lot when I was a child.“
And yet he wonders why the government puts labels on everything.
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