Gun Control: Change Your Sight Picture

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July 1, 2017 by JImbo

We’ve all been there. You have those people you know what just want to pick a fight. You have each entrenched your positions and every “debate” simply turns into a chance to trade insults.

While fun at times, be honest. It isn’t all that productive. At best you are back where you started. At worst it can damage friendships if the argument gets particularly passionate.

Sometimes you need to change the direction of a discussion. That’s true especially now when people are butting heads over everything from Trump to Transgender… or the ongoing issues like Abortion or Gun Control.

Don’t get burned out. Get beyond the road block. Get to the HEART of a matter and you expand the discussion. It goes into new territory and you may learn you have more in common, or the root of the differences.

Take “Gun Control” for instance. It’s not about “guns” per se. It’s about how you view life.

I believe people shouldn’t use tools to injure other people. Simple possession of a tool is not a crime. Doing bad things with that tool is what should be (and already is) a crime. Why spend so much time focusing on tools and not the actions of the individual? In the end, the debate is not about pro or anti gun…it is a philosophical argument on if people or inanimate objects are to blame for bad actions. For example, are DRUGS to blame for “getting people addicted” or are people to blame for choosing to take drugs they know to be addictive? Are cars to blame for drunk driving, or do people choose to drive drunk? Limiting the debate to just guns, or even worse anti-intellectually limiting debate is injurious to our freedom of speech and thought to discuss such things.

For me it’s not about a “win”, but about opening he door to independent thought. I don’t expect to hear “You win.” All I want to hear is “huh… I never thought of it like that.” From there, it’s up to them to do some soul searching and deep thinking.

It’s not a one way street either. You too can learn from other people. That’s just as much a reward. The best teacher is a good student.

Even if nothing new is learned, it’s still useful to exercise your brain. You can’t build muscle sitting around. You can’t test your beliefs without a mental challenge.

“Weak minds talk about people.

Average minds talk about things.

Great minds talk about ideas.”

-Henry Thomas Buckle (based on a similar ancient saying)

If your friend is at least willing to discuss gun control at all, that means they are a step above the celebrity gossipers. Take heart in that. We haven’t lost our society for good yet.

 

 

 

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