I'll Stick to My Guns

In light of the recent gun shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvadle, Texas I will say this: Guns don't kill people. People kill people. Guns are inanimate objects - just like a car, a pencil, a knife, a baseball, a machete or a shovel. Each item mentioned can be misused against anyone or thing. Alone the object cannot cause harm unless it's a bomb which is meant to self-destruct by its very nature. 

Don't believe me? Well, you ignore reality. People don't blame guns or the lack of gun control when nations go to war. If you're in a combat position you'll either be dead via bomb or by gun. Yet there's no calls for "gun control" when it comes to war - no one's saying the soldiers should use tasers or batons. Nope. The people who despise guns are not to be found here. What they do say is that X or Y war isn't necessary. Ah ha! So you're appealing for people to not declare war or to invade a country! People! It's the people! It's the head of the government responsibility to send or not to send troops in X or Y country. 

If people are going to call for gun control if not an outright ban of guns (see: Australia, UK), then you'd have to take a good look at cars and knives - both of which have been used as a means to harm or to murder someone - or alcohol which has a long, long, long history of abuse. But nope. Brittons won't have their pubs turned into literal watering holes, now, eh? 

On the end of the spectrum I do think those who extoll the goodness of America's 2A should tactfully bring up the issues of the lack off mental health in America. We have innocent people dying at the hands of psychopaths, sociopaths and the mentally unstable. Just last year an Asian women was pushed in front of an NYC train as she waited by a mentally unstable person. There was no serious national call for better care of his kind. 

Once again, we don't have a gun issue in the States. We have a mental health issue in the states which has been going on much longer before the likes of Columbine or Sandy Hook came into the picture. In my mind it's better to attack the root cause of it, not the means of it because it simply scares you (I myself have never handled a gun - in fact I'm intimidated by a gun not shown in a picture so there's that, yet I refuse to fall for the narratives of the anti-2A types). 

We don't need Woke education to be taught in American schools. Training and resources towards it are wasted time and money. What there needs to be put in schools at least one trained individual - who is vigilant and courageous at all times - to protect the one main entrance. That's a matter of life and death - or else all those kids who were to be killed won't grow up to be the physicians, engineers, social workers, teachers, moms, dads, astronauts and welders they were meant to be. Chuck out the Wokeness (which warps and later destroys them) and put in individuals who will protect our society's most innocent population. 

Why Western modernity and post-modernists are relatively boring people - and ultimately tragic people.

 The more I think about dating, having a significant other and an eventual spouse the idea of dating a person who is secular seems like dating a child or raising a young dog. Neither one is technically easy even if they don't colic or even if they're exceptionally well-behaved. 

This may come across as elitist, but ironically I'm coming to think that people who have no issue with social progressivism and have no sense of grounding in the divine are really inept. Sure, secularists can be moral but there's not much grounding for their morals and ethical map. 

Lately on social media, and I'm not true how honest these women are (for all I know they could be doing for the attention/clickbait), but left-leaning woman in the US have been publicly announcing in their dating profiles that they will not date a man who doesn't believe in [insert current trend/leftie social pet project]. For devout Christians dating is less political: believe in God and raise our future children to believe in God. There tends to be an absence of modern "Type A" standards. With a that said, a particular denomination probably has more specific personal demands -- but they more or less make sense i.e. moral and ethical standards of Catholicism. In many ways it is value based. 

A good example of "relatively boring people" would be people in Hollywood, especially actors, and the average Western European non-religious, secular person. I suppose it's just my own temperament but I have a hard time relating to someone who thinks half of their actions are based on "just do good." My demand for them intellectually is that they investigate the first cause. If they can't do that then any discussion about morality and ethics is dead in the water. There's no wind. There are no waves. Why should anyone attach themselves to them in a romantic and even sexual way besides to briefly slap skin with one another in order to fulfill carnal urges (and after willingly sterilizing themselves with ABC). It's an absurd way to live, to think and to champion.

In my last post I know I mentioned Britain, but I'll use them again for this post. (Sorry, Britons, I like your country but your overall call to morality sorta confuses me; I just don't take you guys seriously in that regards.) The Russia-Ukraine war has been international front-page news for the last, oh, I dunno, three months as I write this. It's a horrible situation for the Ukrainian people - and for the Russian people who oppose it. Now, like the US, I bet no one will think ill of the Russians as Europeans do of Americans (it's a double standard, really). Largely the UK is secular where anyone under 50 really gives no shits about the divine where they're mostly too preoccupied of dreaming being a beautician, an actor or becoming a professional drunk in the late evenings (of course I'm stereotyping). Within twenty years it'll be like the Nordic countries when it comes to overall environment towards religions - a carcass; post-Christian UK is practically transnationalism in the form of membership in the EU, their obsession with football/soccer, odd pride in the NHS and pub culture. Interesting for a few years but it soon gets tiring. They rest on their ancient history and London to make themselves attractive.

But wait, Goldrush, what about countries like Japan. Japan is largely secular where their citizens don't give much thought about morality and ethics in the form of a divine. Well, I feel the same way, but only to a degree. Unlike the UK which prides itself in being international (well, at least London does - a city which I think slightly overrated; hey, I think Paris is slightly overrated too so there's that), Japan more or less is Japan. They aren't apologetic for it. There's a distinct Japanese culture that you can't get anywhere else. Cities like London and Paris are only unique because of their history (architecture, cobble street roads etc.) - and not because it adopted a cosmopolitan outlook on the world. The more "worldly" a city or person becomes the more the same they become. Ironic how that works out.

In some ways I feel Japan just doesn't give a crap about flying multitude of flags from other countries like you'd see in some high school room in a public school Stateside. This is what I like about Japan - they have their standards which are rather insular and I like that. It protects their own culture from the never encroaching fingers of modernity and eventually post-modernism.

But unlike Wester Europe, Japan is rather socially conservative. There's more of a defined culture of gender roles. They don't go gaga on showing they utterly adore those on the LGBT+ spectrum. They don't virtue signal their "togetherness" with other countries. This can also be found in other Asian countries like South Korea though careerism is an issue as it is in Western Europe and America. 

This is partially why I like patriotism. Yes, you can be worldly but only to a degree. This is why I like pride found in the US. Pride is an absurd concept to Western Europeans. Adolf Hitler really scared the shit out of them so they interpret any sense of pride with the scent of Hitler. I don't view nationalism the way they do, and I do I think understand why they reject nationalism, but I ultimately don't agree with their conclusion about it. I support school pride, city pride, state and regional pride. The US should not follow in the footsteps of Western Europe in this regards to loving your own country. The US should not become a secular, nihilistic entity. If it does it loses its own goodness that made it truly great. 

Let's be real: Europe, as much as they talk crap about America and its lack of wisdom, they aren't going to build something like NASA, the Hoover Dam, or attract people like Elon Musk. Before they look to Western Europe, the Musks of the world are going to look further West and take a good look at the US.

So what does Western Europe have to offer the world besides its ancient ruins and socialized medicine? Not much. Though, Cambridge and Oxford are top notch, so I will give them that. Japan and Asia tend to do public transportation with bragging about it. 

Though not Catholicism, Protestant America is better than a secular America often found in places like San Francisco, LA, NYC, PNW and the New England region. Chicago is very similar to said cities, but at least the steeples that one sees from the highway show a life that was once there before secular hipsters moved in - and where a number of those steeples are still occupied by believers. 

Yes, Non-Americans, Usually From Western Europe, Do Not Understand the "Quirks" of America

I'm always interested in what non-Americans like about the US. Usually they preface their list with things they do not like. I find this odd given they tend to feel the strong urge to tell what they don't like first even when asked the opposite. If they don't like it first it's at the tail-end. After listing the positive they go ons saying "With that said, there are many things I dislike .... " Below are the most common, if not universal, issues non-Americans, usually Europeans, have with the US

• gun "culture"
• no universal healthcare
• "no" work-life balance and paid annual leave (Western Europe in general work less than 30 hrs per week)
• lack of paid maternity leave (they will then boast "we have 1 year paid maternity leave!")
• "only" two week (paid) vacation (instead of 1 month)
• apparently it's seen as unfair for the government to make its citizens do their own taxes
• no "free" university be it undergrad, masters or professional school (i.e. med, law)
• no "proper public transportation" (it's not enough that Chicago and NYC have comprehensive systems since they're not 'good enough')
• the government (America is seen as imperialistic)
• Orange Man Bad

I would argue that there isn't that much of a gun "culture" within the States besides guns existing, whether they're obtain legally or illegally. I will say there are gun enthusiasts though. Most gun deaths are self-inflicted. After that it's gang wars. The minority are deranged people gunning down people for either political reason or just because.

As with leftists in the US, Europeans in general are just simply scared of guns. I wouldn't say it's a phobia, but it's definitely a foreign concept to them hence their fascination and disgust with gun ownership in the US. A good number who travel to the US for leisure have visited gun ranges, so I cannot say they are phobic to it. 

I myself do not own a gun simply for the fact I never felt the need to have one, and that guns aren't a social norm in my family. There are a couple friends who at one time did own a gun which wasn't taboo, granted they were middle class and were relatively responsible people. I sorta wanted to follow them so I filled out the paperwork for a FOID card but for whatever reason never completed it.

The absence of universal healthcare really makes Europeans scratch their heads. Even after the explanation that although many are without healthcare, there is Medicaid for the poor and those with limited financial means, Medicare for the elderly and robust healthcare through ones employee. They sometimes then move the goal posts stating that access of decent healthcare through the employee makes the person a slave to the employee system. Oddly enough I find this complaint bizarre since I believe in the saying of "honest day's work for an honest day's pay." Europeans are just too married to the concept of universal healthcare.

I don't care much for the government complaint. Only a handful of non-Americas have truly studied the American government system whereas many of the complaints of those who haven't are just surface complaints anyways. 

The most amusing thing I find that non-Americans take issue with is Trump. Orange Man Bad. If American leftists refuse to understand why someone would for Trump, and then later think his presidency was a stain on everything good in the world, then I can't see why a non-American would have a better understanding of the Trump Era. After all, if the US MSM can paint him as many bad things the likes of BBC will probably double their efforts. Often times non-Americans are equally as daft as the leftist who froths from the mouth when Trump is mentioned. 

One comment by an American who also reflected on what made her irate about non-Americans is when they talked about Trump. "He's not your prime minister." She made a very good point. It's similar to when a Swedish man said he despised the US because of some random law he learned about in Minnesota or Idaho or whatever state it was. The law wasn't even used; it was an old law that no longer recognized. 

Many non-Americans think that the idea of the American Exceptionalism, though somewhat admirable in their eyes, is ultimately misguided. Why? They say that is creates horse blinders on Americans. To be perfectly honest, I don't really see how places like the UK are anymore worldly given their mentality is the complete opposite of the US - "we're not special" to a pessimistic attitude. I suppose this belief is why they have a hard time understanding the MAGA (Make American Great Again) concept. A British woman said that the slogan didn't make sense to her since America wasn't great for everyone in the past. Obviously she has very clue on what she's talking about.

If there's one thing I never bought about Europe is the idea they are wise while America is not. I'm not saying the US is wise, it's just that the whole "European spent hundreds of years solving human issues yet America doesn't listen" is almost pure posturing. All I've experienced was a lot of hot air on their part.

For all its faults, give me America over the UK any day. Its people - heck, even its government. It's not perfect since it's made up of imperfect humans. And yes, I don't mind the religious fervor in the US.