“The Gun Is Civilization” – By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction and
the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunken guys with baseball bats.

The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger’s potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat–it has no validity when most of a mugger’s potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People, who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force, watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If
both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn’t work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation… and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

Randy MGT Patron Silver Administrator MSSA CCRKBA GOA 2AF NRA FPC
+7
A made in Montana website developer building independent online tools to help us promote, protect and exercise our firearms freedom. I am a 20 year veteran operator and trainer in the emergency roadside service industry. Starting with a childhood and teen years spent in school and family construction in Miles City, MT. Then beyond to Reno, Las Vegas and Northern California after politicians ruined the economy in the late 70's. After having a child my amazing wife and I moved from Tracy, California home to raise him in the last best place. My health since has now restricted me from working outside of my home and here we are today providing a different public service because there is nothing more satisfying. VOTE to help keep Montana pro-gun and I'll keep building and maintaining tools for us to exercise our RTKBA locally online. Feature ads or donate to help keep the lights on and keep me motivated.
Randy avatar

Author: Randy

A made in Montana website developer building independent online tools to help us promote, protect and exercise our firearms freedom. I am a 20 year veteran operator and trainer in the emergency roadside service industry. Starting with a childhood and teen years spent in school and family construction in Miles City, MT. Then beyond to Reno, Las Vegas and Northern California after politicians ruined the economy in the late 70's. After having a child my amazing wife and I moved from Tracy, California home to raise him in the last best place. My health since has now restricted me from working outside of my home and here we are today providing a different public service because there is nothing more satisfying. VOTE to help keep Montana pro-gun and I'll keep building and maintaining tools for us to exercise our RTKBA locally online. Feature ads or donate to help keep the lights on and keep me motivated.

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