Adam C. has a fascinating entry up in RedHot at RedState discussing the surprising (to some people's minds) truth that both Republican and Democrat gun owners and people in gun owning households report higher happiness levels than others, on the average. Of course, people can speculate as to why this is so, including the pat anti-gun rights response -- which I can reasonably guess would be something along the lines of calling them "sick" or being victims of delusion, or covering up a mental illness, or institutional racism, sexism and homophobia, or something along those lines.
Read On...
[Update: I modified the last paragraph and replaced "sangfroid" with "equanimity." In addition to the fact that the former has French roots, it can also connote cold bloodedness, which on further etymological reflection is the opposite of what I am trying to convey with this post. Equanimity expresses my sentiment upon receipt of my Class A LTC much better.]
Usually in our dominantly liberal media culture, whenever someone states that gun ownership isn't a disease it's said more in lament and as an indicator of a deeper societal malaise, not as a compliment. And in the next breath, something to be done away with as soon as people regain their sanity. Like the New York Times, for example, who openly call people who support 2nd Amendment rights "wacky" when they suggest that adults are allowed to protect themselves and bear arms as an explicit right guaranteed by the Constitution, and preceding it.
But I have a better and more personal suggestion, which I can speak to from my own recent experience: gun owners may also tend to be more self-reliant, self-actualized individuals who know, understand, exercise and defend their rights and liberties. They may also be people who can emotionally cope more easily with serious things -- like the responsibility owning a potentially deadly weapon entails.
Finally, they may feel more like true, complete and full citizens of our Republic. I know that when I finally received my Class A License to Carry after more than three months of ambiguity following the license application, I immediately felt relieved and vindicated. I was actually becalmed and happier about myself and the state and country I lived in. I felt that way because after clearing all of the hurdles and passing all of the background checks and meeting twice with my town's Chief of Police to recieve the license, I could feel the years of lefty anti-gun propaganda and outright stigmatization that I had internalized from my past life falling away. I also knew that there was no reason I should have saddled myself with it in the first place.
All other things being equal, my personal sangfroid quotient jumped by about 10% that day and has remained at the higher level ever since. Nothing else significant has changed in my life apart from the fact that I now feel like a full citizen of my country.
Recent comments