Those gun crazy Americans. I can’t believe how obsessed they are. Don’t they realise how many lives would be saved if they just banned all firearms? Or even most? Australia did, and look how great everything is! All very compelling arguments, and all very valid given the comparatively blessed shared life experience of generations of Australians that allows the person telling you to arrive at this conclusion regardless of the differing factors between the history of both nations.
You’ll hear similar reasoning in support of Socialism from the less enlightened. Why? Because these people have only ever experienced the minor hiccups associated with Democracy, which in their opinion equates to a bad system that needs completely tearing down. Socialism is a theory that of course sounds great, but hasn’t been experienced in practice by any of these people or anyone they’ve ever met. There are few recent publicised examples of the horrors of socialism due to the obstructive closed shop nature of the remaining regimes. Of course the guy who quietly belts the s— out of his wife behind closed doors is going to appear to be a more loving husband than the guy occasionally seen arguing with his wife in the yard.
The United States has had a rocky and turbulent history, and was formed as an uneasy alliance of disparate States and territories each with their own reservations about it. Internal and border conflicts shaped the U.S. as a nation, not least of which in regard to the protection of their national sovereignty. The nation (or what would become the nation) endured many of the same conflicts and teething problems that Europe had seen centuries earlier before relative stability and establishment of recognised borders. But unlike Europe, the United States went through its turbulent inception with modern weaponry, making the process all that more complicated.
Aside from the well known American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the Civil War (1861-1865), the nation would see internal strife from countless conflicts that often required coordination with hastily formed militias to bring about a resolution. Literally too many to mention individually in this article, but they can be found here.
While things were undoubtedly tough in other ways in Australia, we were blessed in a sense with our isolation and the size and relative inhospitable nature of our island continent. Obviously European settlement wasn’t idyllic, and we did have our conflicts, but as the left delights in reminding us they were very one sided. And we didn’t see the kind of internal squabbles between those of English or European stock or our (admittedly distant) neighbours that the United States saw.
Compare the list of conflicts within Australia to the American list. If you take away our foreign engagements like the Great War and the Second World War which can’t be blamed on internal strife, we don’t even rate on the radar, and much of what remains could be relegated to garden variety civil disturbance status, for example the inspiration for a catchy Cold Chisel song.
So of course it’s easy for us to discount the idea that an average American might need an AR-15 from the perspective of a nation with 229 years of virtual calm. The notion seemed crazy to me until I decided to delve beyond the MSM narrative. There’s a reason why you’ll never hear an Afghan ridicule America’s obsession with the second amendment. There’s a reason why you’ll never hear a Ugandan or a Somali scoff at the silliness of the NRA. And there’s a reason why Israelis don’t find it a constant source of virtue signalling either. Australians who tut tut about this particular constitutional provision across the pond should probably be first in line to check their privilege.
I know what some may be thinking. That this is an outdated concept for an outdated time. We’re civilised now. We have iPhones, the Internet, intelligent entertainment (I’m being facetious), enlightenment, etc. etc. Unfortunately that isn’t enough. Have you seen what Iran looked like just before the revolution drove them back to the Stoneage? This generation of Persians may have thought that the Second Amendment was silly too. The generations that came after them probably less so.
The most ordered and peaceful civilisations can abruptly fall into anarchy and chaos in the blink of an eye, and when it happens, it happens horrifyingly quickly. The military is of course a vital buffer toward foreign incursion, but in some cases the military itself can be the aggressor.
Even successive Democrat administrations have realised the value in protecting the Second Amendment. Progressives allege that they are afraid of powerful gun lobbies, but if the last election result taught us anything, it’s that Democrats aren’t shy about completely alienating large swathes of their constituency, so if actions speak louder than words it’s apparent that most Democrats at least regard the Second Amendment as a necessary evil.
The argument is always given that a loose militia out-resourced and outgunned by every conventional army on the planet is useless. What are they going to do? It just isn’t worth the collateral damage of armed robberies, gang violence, murders, suicides, school shootings, etc. People who make this case sound compelling until you consider that Native Americans armed with tomahawks and arrows (early adopters of the second amendment if you will) still waged effective operations against well trained soldiers with repeating rifles, Gatling guns, and Cannon that enabled them to negotiate stronger treaties than other conquered people who did nothing.
Arguably, the resistance from Native Americans and the effectiveness of their (ultimately doomed) David vs. Goliath approach to what they saw as a hostile military force was one of the key lessons that inspired the Second Amendment, which I guess makes those who support it cultural appropriators, and those who oppose it racist if I’m up to speed on the S.J.W charter.
Australians deciding that Americans don’t need guns is the height of insularity. Something that Americans are often accused of. It’s a little like deciding that because we don’t require a can of Bear Mace, then obviously the guy planting saplings in the wilds of Alberta, Canada shouldn’t have any Bear Mace either.
When an Australian father takes his son out hunting for the first time, obviously it’s a time to reflect on things like firearm safety, respect for their quarry, and the environment that surrounds them. His American counterpart will do the same, and also stress the importance of the second amendment and why it exists.
Is the Second Amendment a perfect piece of legislation? Of course it isn’t. Would it work in every country? Probably not. Should it be repealed? History suggests that wouldn’t be wise. But regardless of any of this, do any of us who haven’t grown up in the United States have any right to pass judgement on the validity of their constitution?
It’s your XYZ.
Photo by lorenkerns 