Guns, Guns Everywhere, and not a Life to Save

I’ve been thinking of the 2^nd Amendment enthusiasts and the notion of protection. It is a maxim, raised to the level of Divine Truth, that firearms are necessary for protection of home and family, self and others. What rarely enters the conversation is more than a vague allusion to what we're protecting ourselves from.

 “Bad guys with guns.”

 “The Government.”

 “THEM.”

But the trouble is, guns cannot protect anyone from the real dangers in life, the ones faced by every single person on the planet ---- sickness, heartbreak, natural disasters, death. We all face unknown dangers every single day and no amount of firepower can protect us.

That, I think, is what baffles me about the entire conversation. Yes, guns have had their uses. I like venison as well as the next person. There are even instances in which a gun does provide personal protection in extreme circumstances. But I have to say, I have yet to come across one of those instances in real life, and the odds are I never will.

The odds. What are the chances? That's some math, there ----- probability.

In this societal discussion, I'm drawn to the disconnect between reality and fantasy. When I was a little kid, like many others I was afraid there was somebody under my bed or in my closet when the lights went out. It didn’t matter how many times my parents flung open the closet door, or got down on the floor with a flashlight and showed me nobody was there, as soon as the lights went out, I was scared.

That sort of fantasy-world fear is what seems to propel the proliferation of guns, aided and goaded on by the arms industry, of course. Guns are like mouthwash ---- they prey upon our fears and offer a solution for purchase. Easy! And look, it comes in pink for the ladies!

But no matter how much deodorant you apply, it’s not going to make it any easier to talk to that cutie who makes your heart go pitter-patter. And no matter how many guns you pile into your arsenal, you can’t stop a tornado from taking everything you own.

Ultimately, we have to learn to live with uncertainty and ambiguity. I have a doctor’s appointment today. She could tell me I’m seriously ill. Most likely, she’ll tell me it will get better and send me on my merry way. Or maybe I’ll get in a car wreck on the drive to her office and never even get to my appointment. All of those possibilities are infinitely more likely than anything that carrying a gun in my purse would help. Yet there are people who are convinced that carrying a firearm will provide protection from . . . what? Life?

Humans are generally not prone to think things out and behave logically in everyday situations. We’re much more likely to run on unexamined emotion and excitability, or simply habit.  If I considered the statistical odds of being killed in a car wreck every day, I’d never get in an automobile again. If I were to logically, stoically consider the longterm effects of everything that I put in my mouth, I’d probably never enjoy another luscious dish of smooth, cold ice cream. But we live each day as though we’ll live forever and, with practice, learn to ignore or accommodate the perilous ambiguities we face.

A gun will not keep you happy, healthy or loved. And, I truly believe, it is far more likely to multiply fear than diminish it. You can shoot at the Grim Reaper all you want, but there’s no protection there. And he’s not even carrying a gun.