That is the real truth of the matter Sir Warriant. Confiscation and prohibition can never stop someone from getting what they want, if they want it bad enough. Look at France, with some of the most strict gun-control laws anywhere (or so it is reported) but that did not keep terrorists from getting AKs and other weapons to kill (137?) people there. Alcohol flowed freely in the U.S. during the Prohibition of the 1930s, and much money was made from it, by everyone from the hillbilly who made 'shine up in the mountains, to the crime boss in Chicago who developed an intricate network of supply and ‘safe’ places to meet demand (private drinking clubs). It is even shown on the old ‘family classic’ show “The Waltons” about a good wholesome depression-era family, where the Baldwin sisters–two little old ladies of genteel raising–still made “Papa’s Recipe” (alcoholic beverage) even though they did not realize it was alcoholic or prohibited. Everyone in town knew about it, but said nothing, and the sisters used it for “medicinal purposes” plus a snort or two for anyone who wanted it during holidays.
Yes the difference in how crime is portrayed today is amazing to me. I grew up watching shows like “Gunsmoke” where people were killed with some regualrity, but the show always showed the villain as a true villain, and the Marshall who didn’t like killing, but was forced to put them down eventually, always with a bit of sadness on his part, due to the actions of the villain, and to protect the innocent. The “bad guys” might have gotten their run at glory, but in the end, they always ended up just another face-down corpse on Main Street, in Dodge. When the shooting was over, undoubtedly there was a quick shot of the face of Marshall Matt Dillon (James Arness) that showed his sadness and regret, not some revelry in death or ‘victory.’
I do not think seeing or understanding death leads to violence, but rather how death is viewed. I grew up with death as a constant factor of life. I grew up on a farm, and we raised all our own food. The three little pigs I helped raise through the spring and summer, I helped kill and butcher in the fall. I put many a chicken neck on the chopping block. Death was necessary, but we also knew it was FINAL. We saw it on a regular basis, but rather than make us jaded about what it meant, it made us well aware of the gravity of death. Seeing the head of a pig (now a grown hog) severed from it’s body and lying on chopping block–when over the last 6-8 months you petted the pig, scratched behind its ears, and watched it grow into maturity, could not but make one realize the finality of death. I really feel the disconnection people have with their environment and the lack of knowledge of where their food comes from is just one thing that has pushed some people into a flippant attitude about death. I am amazed when even teenagers today can not tell me what animal a “pork chop” came from!
Sometimes I feel the “social animal” the human has become has carried the concept too far. I do not believe that the idea of “society” remains a healthy way to live when carried to the extremes of our biggest cities today. Man’s march from the hunter-gatherer he was to the socialite of today may have taken us too far along that path. A couple of interesting books on the subject are “Ishmael” and “The Story of B” both by Daniel Quinn. Whether one agrees with his concept or not, they are interesting and thought-provoking reading.
