Guns and pitbulls aren't the problem. It's our culture. I don'y think this stuff would be an issue if we valued pro-social behavior in the U.S. We do not. If we feel no moral obligation toward other citizens, we objectify them at best, or treat them as subhuman vermin at worst.
YOU are the last person who should own a laser cannon.
I recently read a review of a book that proclaimed the end of liberalism that made some good points. It argues that liberalism, or freedom as some like to think of it, has eroded much of the social “glue” in America, leaving people adrift and feeling abandoned, alien in their own country.
Part of this has to do with how both conservatives and liberals interpret liberalism, or freedom, to mean the absence of government interference, laws, oversight, etc. So for conservatives, this has lead to capitalism and gun “rights”. For liberals, it means civil rights and unlimited abortions. The article argues that both sides are actually expressing the same ideal, an ideal that is eroding away at the foundation of this country.
So what I’m saying is, people’s pit bulls, guns, free sex, and free hate speeches are making other people, their own neighbors, feel scared, alienated and uncomfortable in their own country.
I don’t know if I agree with this argument entirely, but I do see that the extremes of both ends are kind of saying the same things and that interpreting freedom and liberalism as being “free” of external constraints, is problematic. And as
@Wildfire previously wrote, it isn’t optimal either.
The article also states that one interpretation of liberalism, and I think all definitions should include this, is self-mastery along with self-restraint. In other words, liberalism is the ability to self-govern. It’s not only about freedom from constraints, but about the ability to be restrained.
This speaks to my point, which is that the very people who cannot restrain themselves, limit themselves, are the ones incapable of governing, and are the least entitled to freedom. Like, if you’re obese, you should stop eating. But, if you could stop eating, you wouldn’t be obese. It’s a problem.
The paradox of liberalism and freedom then, is that in enforcing limits on people, limits that they should already be imposing on themselves but don’t, means someone’s freedom will be limited.
So, I don’t disagree that there needs to be more pro-social movements that bonds people together. I do think that part of that means putting in place sensible laws, like limiting the kinds of guns for sale, and pit bulls. What I think is also needed, is understanding from both sides that some limits are necessary. I, for one, am willing to concede that a woman shouldn’t need more than three abortions in her lifetime.
