View Full Version : Wrtiting an essay on the benefits of guns
CowboyTuff
03-17-2010, 10:50
and could use some pointers or points on which I need to make sure to cover. I'd like to know how you guys think firearms benefit my main sections (hunting, CCW, and I need at least one more main topic)
Thanks in advance,
Tuff
Well, the over all aim is how the presence of firearms benefits society as a whole right? So your main topics of hunting and CCW are really just things that also benefit society, but wouldn't be possible without firearms. Have I got a good understanding of your angle so far?
How about preserving liberty? I think you could argue that without ready access to firearms by the general population the birth of the United States may never have happened. If it had not been for the USA then the French Revolution may never have happened. It just keeps going from there…
A second example would be the unwillingness of Japan to consider invading the west coast due to the armed population (among many other factors).
Don't present the Japan thing without verifiable facts to back it up though. I see people say that a lot, but I think only one time I've seen a quote from someone in the Japanese military saying something that hints at that being one of the reasons (no offense of course esaabye).
Also, you may want to consider presenting the argument (if you believe it) that you are really writing about the benefits of a force equalizer, and if something more effective than guns came along, you'd support that as well.
force equalizer
That is really the core of the matter.
Fentonite
03-17-2010, 11:38
There's a good article called "The False Promise of Gun Control" by Daniel Polsby. It's too long to post, but it may have some ideas for you. PM me your email, and I'll send it to you.
"Because the chics dig it"? HAHAHA.
ChunkyMonkey
03-17-2010, 11:55
This may not be usable to you, but I helped my nephew with his essay on The myth of gun control = less crime by comparing the Japanese Gun Control (one of the strictest in the world with some of the lowest crime rate too) to US supposedly non existent one.
Upon a quick research, like in US, they have their own psychos and mass murderers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre
At 10:15 that morning, 37-year-old former janitor Mamoru Takuma entered the school armed with a kitchen knife and began stabbing numerous school children and teachers. He killed eight children, mostly between the ages of seven and eight, and seriously wounded thirteen other children and two teachers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre
At 12:33 p.m. JST, a man hit a crowd with a truck, eventually killing three people and injuring two; he then stabbed at least 12 people using a dagger (initially reported as a survival knife)[1] killing four people and injuring eigh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masahiro_Kanagawa
Masahiro Kanagawa (金川 真大 Kanagawa Masahiro?, born 1983) is a Japanese man who went on a stabbing spree in the city of Tsuchiura on March 23, 2008, which left a 27-year-old man dead and seven others wounded
A good reading for us.
http://www.guncite.com/journals/dkjgc.html
Maybe these can help you not necessarily with how guns benefit, but how guns dont kill people. Dumb people do! [Beer]
MB888, I would argue that teh low crime rate in Japan has more to do with how they treat criminals caught instead of a no firearm policy. Their traditional of cultural familial honor also plays a huge role.
cowboykjohnson
03-17-2010, 13:00
Don't present the Japan thing without verifiable facts to back it up though. I see people say that a lot, but I think only one time I've seen a quote from someone in the Japanese military saying something that hints at that being one of the reasons (no offense of course esaabye).
The man in my signature said that.... see below
I knew I had seen it some where. lol
Too cool.... make sure you post a copy of the final product when you are done. (That is if you don't mind openly posting your work) I would be interested in reading it and also hearing the grade you get and any points deducted or rebuttle anyone has.
make sure you post a copy of the final product when you are done.
Anyone want to read my MM Thesis on the acoustical properties of the trumpet?
First you'll be like [Neene3], [Tooth], then [Shock] [Whacko], resulting in [Cry] [Eek3] [Dunno] [Shake], then getting fed up and [Ban3] [Punker] [Pop], while thinking about [Hang] , while saying [Help] , then telling me[Smart] , finally resulting in [M2] of the paper....
The end.
cowboykjohnson
03-17-2010, 13:24
wow that sounds awesome!
Would a trumpet sound different if you weren't holding it at all? Like if it were suspended with zero support?
Would a trumpet sound different if you weren't holding it at all? Like if it were suspended with zero support?
From a physics standpoint, yes. The question really becomes, would the human ear be able to percieve that difference? No. The only thing that may be perceive is a slight variation in tone quality.
SA Friday
03-17-2010, 16:37
What's the class? What type of paper? What format? Cited references? How long? These all come into play as to how you will address the information in the paper and many times what pieces of information you want to address.
KevDen2005
03-18-2010, 02:44
How about preserving liberty? I think you could argue that without ready access to firearms by the general population the birth of the United States may never have happened. If it had not been for the USA then the French Revolution may never have happened. It just keeps going from there…
A second example would be the unwillingness of Japan to consider invading the west coast due to the armed population (among many other factors).
So what you are saying is, the only war the French won on their own was the one against themselves?[ROFL2]
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:02
Well, the over all aim is how the presence of firearms benefits society as a whole right? So your main topics of hunting and CCW are really just things that also benefit society, but wouldn't be possible without firearms. Have I got a good understanding of your angle so far?
Yep your right on target I'm just trying to illustrate the benefits of firearms to society and CCW/Hunting are my two main points to discuss thus far
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:04
Don't present the Japan thing without verifiable facts to back it up though. I see people say that a lot, but I think only one time I've seen a quote from someone in the Japanese military saying something that hints at that being one of the reasons (no offense of course esaabye).
Also, you may want to consider presenting the argument (if you believe it) that you are really writing about the benefits of a force equalizer, and if something more effective than guns came along, you'd support that as well.
Honestly I think that is a great Idea because I actually use that exact wording in my intro.. the only thing is that we had to pick an arguable topic to defend and I think I lose that aspect by the force equalizer wording
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:06
"Because the chics dig it"? HAHAHA.
Hahaha... Theres the conclusion right there [ROFL1] [ROFL2]
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:10
Oh I definitely will! worked too hard on this not to show it off a bit! [Coffee]
Too cool.... make sure you post a copy of the final product when you are done. (That is if you don't mind openly posting your work) I would be interested in reading it and also hearing the grade you get and any points deducted or rebuttle anyone has.
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:11
Its a persuasion essay, 5-8 pages double spaced. Cited references, yes!
What's the class? What type of paper? What format? Cited references? How long? These all come into play as to how you will address the information in the paper and many times what pieces of information you want to address.
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 13:15
Well, the over all aim is how the presence of firearms benefits society as a whole right? So your main topics of hunting and CCW are really just things that also benefit society, but wouldn't be possible without firearms. Have I got a good understanding of your angle so far?
My plan is to break the paper into three main sections and discuss them at length... CCW, Hunting and one more if I can figure one out
How about if the concept of force equalization justifies the use of firearms or not? It might be a tad more difficult because "force equalization" as a concept is a little more abstract than something like CCW or Hunting as those both have tangible permits and measurable data. What other ideas have crossed your mind?
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 17:18
I'm probably going to do economy, because to me that is the next logical choice
Economy as in how sales create/maintain jobs in the US?
CowboyTuff
03-18-2010, 22:59
Economy as in how sales create/maintain jobs in the US?
exactly, as in supporting the small mom and pop stores, american products, that sort of thing
Fentonite
03-19-2010, 02:43
exactly, as in supporting the small mom and pop stores, american products, that sort of thing
The local gunsmithing school might have some helpful info, too, like job placement and demand for their grads, the jobs provided to their instructors, etc. Just a thought.
MB888, I would argue that teh low crime rate in Japan has more to do with how they treat criminals caught instead of a no firearm policy. Their traditional of cultural familial honor also plays a huge role.
Give me a chance to look into this as I can't come up with a bibliography, but, I heard a little while back that the murder rate in Japan is very low, but it may have more to do with their laws as such. Word was the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) kills a lot of people and owns most of the construction companies in Japan, and their MO is to hide bodies in foundations of buildings prior to further construction. In Japan it cannot be called a murder without a body, and as these are nearly impossible to find, the murder rate is significantly lower than actual. This was from a Japanese police officer, but I can't say from where yet.
Another thing that comes to mind for me.
People often compare the US and the UK in terms of crime rates and gun laws. If one was to get into comparisons I think one that would be far more accurate and informational would be the US and Mexico. Geographically the two are far more similar, i.e. NOT AN ISLAND, and culturally the two are far more similar. New World and all that involves for the people and their beliefs(independent, trouble with authority), Large racial divides, NOT AN ISLAND, large imported drug problems, gang cultures. I could go on. In any event, Mexico has some of the worlds strictest gun laws, we do not. There is no need to explain the difference in crime rates.
You have to be careful with the peaceful checks and balance thing. It IS true, and I whole heartedly agree with it, but it is easily countered with a slippery slope or sliding scale argument.
For instance, yesterday I read an article about "Women as young as 2 years old vicitms of rape in tent cities in haiti." The article talked about men with holding food from women and demanding sexual favors. The first thought that came into my head was that those guys deserve a bullet to the face, then, that wouldn't be an issue if one in five people had a firearm to prevent rapes.
However, I was careful not to make that comment, because I just KNEW that some gun grabbing, surrender monkey would just turn that around on me and say that the people with guns would turn around and rape women AND steal food. So build your argument carefully. You could re-enforce the CCW issue by explaining the laws about displaying or threatening with firearms. So the combination of wanting to keep your gun rights and wanting to appear unarmed, helps maintain an appropriate balance. This is evidenced by the US not being the wild west that surrender monkeys fantasize about all the time.
Biggest benefit: Peaceful check and balance. Politics runs up against an invisible barrier where politicians worry about *issing off the populace to the point where they take up arms. This may sound ridiculous at first, but look at the current admins labeling of domestic extremists, some of the "Obama" quotes and their complete unwillingness to tackle "gun control" and certain other issues now, despite that being one of the biggest elements of their campaign platform. Not because they don't want to, because they fear what will happen to them if they do (not getting reelected or worse) There is always a degree of corruption in politics. Firearm ownership is THE check and balance that ensures we will continue holding elections for a long time in the future. Firearm ownership also protects minority opinions. Because you don't have to *iss off the entire country, you just need to *iss off a small number of them badly enough - so it helps us avoid becoming a true democracy (which many liberals really want us to be) AKA mob rule (we are a republic).
All this benefit without a shot being fired. This is also the underlying intent of the second amendment. Contrary to what hollywood and liberals would want you to believe, the 2A has absolutely nothing to do with hunting.
The more "control" you have, and the greater difference between forces (military, peace officer, civilian) the less effect this check and balance has. Which is part of the reason many politicians push for "gun control" in the first place.
And force equalizer - as has been mentioned, that is not in regards to the military. It's in regards to a 90 year old grandma defending against a 6'4" 260 pound assailant. Firearms are pretty much the only thing that can "level" the playing field.
Great write up !!!!!!
SA Friday
03-19-2010, 15:46
This might help you out. This site has saved me hours of reviewing in whatever english book for the right format for my citations. You still have to understand the basics, but you can plug in your info and get a properly formatted citation for your reference page from here. It's the most accurate I've found so far, but it still will occasionally throw out a wierd punctionation in the citation.
http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php
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