Second Amendment is obsolete

I think we need to look at the context in which the 2nd amendment was written.  At that time, it made sense, force of arms had meaning.  Guns were useful for survival and most of the time they were not needed.

Now we are clearly addicted to armament as a nation and as individuals, and guns are used for political purposes.  Just as in every addiction, we have become powerless over guns and they have made our lives unmanageable.  So nobody is making any decisions with any kind of rationality about guns or violence, and it’s time for treatment, withdrawal, education, and new lifestyle choices with mutual support.

Overthrowing a government today with the relatively small firepower of guns compared to predator drones is an obvious impossibility that the NRA does not admit, so invoking a 2nd amendment remedy is simply a cover for crimes of hate.  Violence is force with hate, the 2nd Amendment has become irrelevant, and should be replaced with the right for all citizens participate in circles of deliberative problem-solving and education for empathy.  Any tyranny remaining in the government would soon dissolve.

Force with love can be done non-violently, without hate, with a willingness to sacrifice oneself if necessary.  If we are ever to use force with love in an ethical manner to control other people, it will be decided purely in the moment as a samurai would do with great regret as a last defensive resort, realizing his unity with the opponent and preferring to restrain or disable him rather than kill.  I believe Gandhi would agree.

The second amendment is obsolete and irrelevant. Americans are addicted to their guns and will continue to spiral into a bottomless pit of senseless violence until a stunned silence creates the space for someone to ask if there just might be another way to resolve conflict.

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