From the Vault: Of Church, State and Pragmatism
April 15, 2008 | Announcements
From Nov. 18, 2004:
“My friend Jeff opened the discussion between he, George and myself about the NRA, the gay marriage ban and more. Jeff even took a shot at the SoCals stealing water. I offered this essay on the discussion:
It seems the polarization for these things lies around Constitutionality. There’d be no NRA were there no “right to keep and bear arms” clause. I read it and every time, I get that the people have a right to keep arms. Plus, there’s nothing in the Constitution to define the varying degrees of killing capability for “arms.” So, why not have a folding stock on a Remington lever-action rifle? Clips for my crossbow? Speaking of which, commend the NRA for practically omitting from this discussion other “arms” like swords, knives, pikes, archery gear, flashbangs and grenades (and if I am allowed to “keep and bear arms,” I’d much rather be able to yell, ‘Murphy! Murphy!’ then sight my .22 in the middle of the night. Speaking of the NRA …
The NRA is a lobbying group for gun manufacturers. Its purpose is to help S&W, Colt and other weapons-making manufacturers to sell more guns. It does this by lobbying Congress to buy more weapons for the military; encouraging hunting; and raising the bar for personal, home and work security standards.
I find it’s always easier to start at the root motivation and work outward. NRA’s avocation of hunting and other programs are asides. The NRA helps gun manufacturers make money. And like any other lobbying group, it has a right to exist. I like guns. I don’t own them, but I like them. I don’t own them because I’d probably shoot myself because of incompetence or my ADHD.
That said, I wouldn’t blame the gun if it killed my wife or child. I’d blame the killer. He wanted to kill them. The means wasn’t relevant. And I’m pretty sure the NRA doesn’t take the side of any murderers, assassins or serial killers (who rarely use guns anyway). Look at it another way: you buy widgets. You go to the annual widget convention. Several hundred vendors have booths.
The NRA is one of those really large booths with the hot chicks, tons of freebies and the demos that just wow the widget world. Like any other advertiser, the NRA just wants to increase gun manufacturers’ “wallet share.” It’s when the NRA gives free widgets, cruises and cash to influence laws; it gets married to politicians. That’s a bad marriage. Speaking of marriage (and yes I am the king of segue right now) …
A marriage is a religious binding of two people. It is a ceremony witness by God and friends. It becomes legal because our country and the states have enacted laws saying, “If you’re married, you get this.”
So, the issue of marriage has, through faulty logic path, found its way as a political item. Side note: the issue of gay marriage was put on state ballots to obfuscate other issues the Republicans didn’t want on voters’ minds when they went to the poll.
Since the issue of gay marriage equaled a discussion of morals, the Republicans had leverage at the polls. Why? Voters walked in and if they were leaning on the republican platform to start, the gay marriage issue pushed them over the edge. It probably pushed a lot of undecideds over the edge as well. Think about it. For that period of time, Bush = no gay marriage, though the two were completely unrelated. And by the way, where is this discussion now?
Since marriage has so many legal bindings now (mainly taxes and benefits from the government), then the government of the free people that respects privacy (supposedly) should observe that same-sex partnerships have merit.
They will happen. Therefore, the states should make a proviso for “partnerships.” It doesn’t have to be marriage with a religious figurehead overseeing. It might just be a justice of the peace signing some documents.
The real snag comes when gay couples are also religious and they want both bindings. Then, that’s a reality they should be prepared to face. They have a stigma with thousands of years of history to overcome. To that end, in the battle between the steamroller and the ladybugs, the steamroller always wins.
An aside: the three of us can see the larger perspective. However, you put the three of us in a room with seven random others and chances are the other seven are so myopic – so tunnelvisioned – they only see one view. One perspective. The seven would be easily influence. Lemmings. Follow the crowd. Do what their friends do, what their parents do. Politicians, lobbyists, salespeople and anyone in mass communication know it, too. It’s simple psychology. “A person is not stupid; people are very stupid. There dumb animals who run in herds, panic and do whatever the group does in times of fear and stress.” Don’t remember who said it, but it’s true. The psychology is there, and when the bashing starts; when the hate starts; and when the sales pitch starts, there aren’t enough “persons” to make a difference. Reason and thought go down the drain because it’s just easier not to think and do what friends and family are doing. Follow the leader. That’s why leadership is important. Few do it well. Those who do know it’s a catalyst for mass change. Intelligent thought goes right down the drain pipe. Speaking of drain pipes and bashing San Diegans …
Let’s talk about that pipeline to San Diego (since I’m from there and all), San Diego, like almost all coastal settlements, started as missions. With few people. Remember, at the start of the first World War, there were 105 million people in America. Now, 290 million. The simple fact is people live in San Diego. It’s a nice place. It needs water. The Colorado River is a river in the United States with water in it. Southern California needs water.
Consider this: How states acquire power is no different. Do you believe Colorado Springs or Cheyenne, Wyoming are powered by plants in the towns? Of course not. They buy energy from the commodities market like pork barrels. So, your energy may come from Texas, New Jersey or, God forbid, California. A few other notes for the California situation that may apply to other situations (and this may help solve the gay marriage thing, too): California still provides 75 percent of the agricultural output – for the entire US.
If separated from the US, as a separate country, it would have the world’s third highest GDP. There are 80 million people in California. Oh, I could go on. Summary: the US and anyone irritated by the fact Southern California gets its water from the Colorado River needs to look realistically at the world around them, suck it up and move on. Oh, just because it’s called the “Colorado” River doesn’t mean Colorado owns the water.
The United States has interests in the Colorado River. Therefore, it’s in the interests of the United States to make that river work in the same way it’s in the interests of that leech of a lawyer to make Anna Nicole Smith lose weight, stand up, wobble, smile, shake her boobs and preen. If bent River minders had a deeper perspective – on the NRA, on gay unions and on stealing water — they’d be eating crow.
