Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

??????

We have the right to defend ourselves - if we as a species did not exercise this right we would not be here today.
You my friend are a pacifist evolutionary dead end which is fine - that is your choice.

But your passive aggressive behavior (ie. You don't want to have to use force yourself to dominate others, you want to use armed thugs from the government to use force in your name to dominate others) is dishonest and darkly twisted no matter how you try to justify it or dress it up in pretty words and hollow platitudes.

You my friend are a coward.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.

Or as Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy...and it is us." What is the beast in us? Hate and fear. The beast will do anything to keep us safe. And it all seems very logical and practical and justified. Common sense and wise. A matter-of-fact of course. More guns and more guns and more guns. Unlimited ammo. Laws that make it easier to kill people, such as the "stand your ground law" in a number of states, are considered prudent. We, each one of us, is the "beast," as long as we let hate and fear dictate the terms of our existence. Weaponizing ourselves perpetuates the root of violence. What we wish to avoid by arms is what we promote by arming ourselves as a supposed deterrent. It can only endlessly escalate. But it is what our heart and mind bring to the question of choosing to bear arms against the possible threat of violence that we side with violence as a way of life. We endorse murder and we endorse the continuation of the slaughter of innocence. The path away from this choice is extremely difficult but the only solution to end the madness. Jesus laid down his life and we must be willing to do the same.