From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Fri Jul 10 1998 - 06:47:13 MDT
IMHO, harv@gate.net (Harvey Newstrom) breathed some much-needed reason into
the gun discussion we've been having here. His conclusions (it seems to me),
which I heartily endorse, are that guns are tools and "are extropian" only to
the extent that they are USED in a fashion that furthers the principles and
values we share.
(I might quibble about Harvey's discussion of the "high" or "low" tech-ness of
"guns" in general: Within a particular engineering regime, "high tech" to me
is simply the best possible solution to a particular engineering problem.
Thus, given a praticular set of operational specifications, a darn good
argument can be made that a S&W .44 revolver, employing a design little
changed in 100 years, is "high tech.)
The gun discussion tends to come and go here in the context of discussions of
individual liberty as a value in society. It IS a "hot button" issue for many
libertarians in the U.S., so even relatively casual remarks can initiate a
discussion of individual ownership and control of weapons. We've probably had
quite enough gun talk here for a while, but I would urge my fellow gun-owners
to consider how the issue is perceived by folks from outside the U.S., and to
try to be diplomatic in their rhetoric: What may seem self-evident and basic
to someone grounded in U.S. history and society can seem shocking and
threatening to others.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<burchg@liddellsapp.com>
Attorney ::: Director, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must
be driven into practice with courageous impatience."
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