Well T.C. It's not that I feel like a slave nor have we as a country, actually quite the opposite.
It's really kind of comforting walking around as un-armed serfs and knowing that another serf is as well.
Just look at how black your pot is really as this kettle whistles merrily in the land of the CCW free.
I find this an amazing fact: [FONT=arial, sans-serif]permits soared to over 16.36 million – a 256% increase since 2007. That's almost 50% of our country's population, and it shows that there is a serous need to have one. [/FONT]
I suppose I'm picking nits, but you don't know that (the other serf is unarmed as well). You can believe that, and you may well be correct, but you do not know that.
In spite of all the media's caterwauling, mass shootings are quite minimal in the states. Remove multiple major cities (where gun control laws are the most stringent) from the count and crimes involving guns (in the US) are well down on the list of nations publicizing gun crime statistics.
The problem isn't guns or even the lack of infringing laws; the problem is people without respect for laws or the rights of others. I would hazard a guess that our problems (people who do not respect others or the law) are the same general problems found in other nations.
There are a few major differences though: with the most major difference being the structure of power. Our ideals have power flowing from the people. We gave, via the Constitution, our government those powers specifically granted and only those specifically granted powers. Our rights do not come from a benevolent government - we derive our rights from our creator (we're born with them). Our rights are unalienable - meaning they cannot be taken, or given, away.
Granted, there are many here (in the US) who do not understand the concept and our ideals are frequently smeared in the effort to undermine individual freedoms. Generally when we speak of serfs and the government, we are not speaking about those citizens of other nations. Instead we are speaking of our own citizens who would gladly trade their freedom for a lifetime of government control. We draw a strict distinction between citizen and subject: with the former being free and in control of their lives, and the latter being constrained and controlled in every aspect of their lives (by the government).
It isn't fear that drives us to exercising our natural rights: it is freedom and the knowledge that governments are inherently intrusive.
I too find it amazing that 16.36 million free individuals have had their rights trampled to the point that they must secure permission (from the government) to exercise their natural rights. I find it sad that we've come to the point where we put up with that kind of crap.
