I think the fear is far worse than reality to keep us scared and purchasing.

How can you say"I think the fear is far worse than reality"?
Have you ever been the victim of a crime? I have,the fear of being a victim was in no way worse than actually being a victim of crime.
If it comes down to being a victim of crime or making the criminal pay the price for his actions,I will always choose making the criminal pay.

from what i hear, it seems that many US citizens have no faith in their fellow citizens NOR in their government NOR in their democratic institutions.

You always hear that there are 'evil" people out there just waiting for a chance to rob you, kill you and/or rape you. I mean doesn't it suck living in a country where every fellow citizen is also a potential enemy?

secondly how weak must your political environment and political culture be in order for the nation to erronously install such a regime that usurps the power of the people to whihc the only recourse is armed conflict. last i checked, this should be IMPOSSIBLE in the world's "leading democracy". It seems that the US in a very real danger of becoming a violent banana republic if guns are not allowed to proliferate. I don't get that.

lastly, how weak are your democratic institutions since you can assume that it is ACTUALLY POSSIBLE for an individual or a party to usurp the power of the people in a such a way? I thought the trifecta of the Presidency, Legislature and Judiciary was supposed to prevent this from ever happening. I mean if you believe that the US could actually be corrupted and controlled inspite of the constitutional safeguards, leaving only armed conflict as an option, then i would hardly consider the US political system one to be emulated.

Guns don't assisst humanity in ANY way, they ONLY provide ANOTHER WEAPON with which to cause MORE harm to other humans.

Social development like the eradication of poverty, free ehalthcare and education and less exploitation of the poor by the rich eliminates 90% of the reasons to live a life of criminality. If take away these reasons you are effectively removing the motive for crime from 90% of criminals.

Criminality is a social phenomena, not because "some people are just evil". THAT is an oversimplified perception, which only feeds distrust and disharmony, and does NOTHING to combat the actual causes of criminality.

I would say that's a very bleak view of the American people and indeed humans in general.

I would also think that democracy as an ideal is FAR STRONGER a force than politicians on the take can hope to exploit for more than a limited period of time.

However i do agree that the obsession in the US that only US-style administration is "true" democracy is actually the greatest hindrance for the complete and unequivocal implentation of deomocratic ideals.

Democracy requires introspection, self-evaluation and a complete absence of dogma.

I keep telling you America is not the only messed up country in this world,,and it's not the guns that are the problem, it the people that are trying to force other people..now if we tossed every gun in America in the river today,,WE would be invaded tomorrow, that one good reason not to give up our guns/weapons..

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."


Thomas Jefferson

That's my man talkin' there!

(He is a favorite of mine too...)

That right...Men need weapons..crooks don't...we need to enforced the laws on the books,and stop crooks from getting guns.