The print media has given some notice to the fact that the first Baby Boomers will achieve the milestone of age Sixty in January. There has, arguably, been no other generation in American History which has been studied as much, or pandered to, than the Boomers. We re-wrote the book on American culture, rightly or wrongly...I am not going to debate that or even make the case that the "Greatest Generation" saved the world, but maybe collectively weren't so great in the parenting department.
The endless debate over nature vs nuture continues. When I look at the climate of attitudes towards guns in America today, I must confess that I am a bit perplexed. All of us boomers grew up in an enviornment that was definitely pro-gun. We were the first television generation and all of the great westerns of the 50's and even into the 60's were 30 minute or 60 minute morality plays in which the gun, in the hands of the righteous, overcame evil (yeah, I know that there were a few shows where the hero didn't carry a gun, but most of 'em did).
Our fathers (and a few of our mothers) returned from the greatest event in the history of civilization: WWII. Many brought back guns as souvineers from the war, and millions of men who were not shooters per se learned to handle firearms.
All of this should have laid the foundation for a very pro-firearms society, and yet today this nation is increasingly anti-gun. Now before the reader uses the very persuasive counter-argument that the number of shall-issue states is increasing and that more Americans are developing an interest in firearms, it seems almost paradoxical but the worldview of so many of us is decidedly anti-gun. What's more gun rights are now associated with the right and conservatives and a whole bunch of other things that aren't so good (I am not suggesting in any way that being a conservative is bad thing BTW). I was watching "Law & Order: SVU" last night on cable and who was the leader of a neo-Nazi group ? Wny it was a gun shop owner, naturally.
So what changed things ? The assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK or the war in Viet Nam, a change in educational philosophy that stressed self actualization over knowledge, or the alignment of the planets ?
If the nurture faction is correct, our earliest enviornment was very pro-gun which should have sustained us collectively to regard firearms positively.
I must admit to being perplexed by this and I would be interested in knowing what you think, boomer or not.
Regards,
Mark
The endless debate over nature vs nuture continues. When I look at the climate of attitudes towards guns in America today, I must confess that I am a bit perplexed. All of us boomers grew up in an enviornment that was definitely pro-gun. We were the first television generation and all of the great westerns of the 50's and even into the 60's were 30 minute or 60 minute morality plays in which the gun, in the hands of the righteous, overcame evil (yeah, I know that there were a few shows where the hero didn't carry a gun, but most of 'em did).
Our fathers (and a few of our mothers) returned from the greatest event in the history of civilization: WWII. Many brought back guns as souvineers from the war, and millions of men who were not shooters per se learned to handle firearms.
All of this should have laid the foundation for a very pro-firearms society, and yet today this nation is increasingly anti-gun. Now before the reader uses the very persuasive counter-argument that the number of shall-issue states is increasing and that more Americans are developing an interest in firearms, it seems almost paradoxical but the worldview of so many of us is decidedly anti-gun. What's more gun rights are now associated with the right and conservatives and a whole bunch of other things that aren't so good (I am not suggesting in any way that being a conservative is bad thing BTW). I was watching "Law & Order: SVU" last night on cable and who was the leader of a neo-Nazi group ? Wny it was a gun shop owner, naturally.
So what changed things ? The assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK or the war in Viet Nam, a change in educational philosophy that stressed self actualization over knowledge, or the alignment of the planets ?
If the nurture faction is correct, our earliest enviornment was very pro-gun which should have sustained us collectively to regard firearms positively.
I must admit to being perplexed by this and I would be interested in knowing what you think, boomer or not.
Regards,
Mark