The Politics Of Gene Wolfe

Craig Brewer · 17 Mar 2009, 15:31 · from 2009-March.txt.gz

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From: cnbrewer at yahoo.com (Craig Brewer)
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:31:23 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: (urth) The Politics Of Gene Wolfe
References: <W447681238525221237244914@webmail21>
	<B2156387-2C0B-41C8-A692-569C229615F0 at butcherbaker.org>
	<49BF4515.6080806 at io.com>
	<03FEB8E1-A5CB-4C35-B788-FF0B30DD9AD3 at goosemoon.org>
	<49BF7768.6000407 at io.com>
	<11930.72.171.0.143.1237286160.squirrel at brunians.org>
	<7D7361FF-F396-4C21-AB80-4B18585C708C at io.com>
	<93d4039f0903170724w1424e52cn7998812102dbee6b at mail.gmail.com>
	<2B8C663FAC9D4D39A0D4521DABA89887@eMachinePC>
	<6612.67.142.130.27.1237303208.squirrel at brunians.org>
	<1f7617370903170825q9eab45fseb339ff294446f2f at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <964416.59898.qm at web37607.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

One more non-Wolfe point. I agree with Dan'l about the correct reading of the 2nd Amendment and always have.

But even if it were for us to defend ourselves from the government, it has always seemed odd to me to apply that argument in an age when the weapons available to a massive governmental body aren't available to private individuals. I mean, even if we all bonded together in a big militia with big automatic weapons, would we stand a chance against an air force, a navy with its increasingly sophisticated robotic drone technology, chemical/bio/nuclear weapons, etc.? It's one thing to want a high powered gun in your home. But it seems ludicrous to me to argue about its use in defending yourself against a 21st century military machine.

----- Original Message ----
From: Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <danldo at gmail.com>
To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 10:25:22 AM
Subject: Re: (urth) The Politics Of Gene Wolfe

On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 8:20 AM,  <brunians at brunians.org> wrote:

> The intent of the second amendment is to allow the citizenry to more
> readily defend themselves against the government, when this becomes
> necessary, as it inevitably does.

This is a common myth. In fact, the Second Amendment is the only one
of the Ten that clearly states its purpose -- which is that a well-ordered
militia is essential for "security" of the state. In other words, it isn't about
opposing the government; it's about having the ability to repel invaders
on the spur of the moment.

I myself am deeply conflicted about the Second Amendment. It seems
clear to me that the free access to guns we have now is causing a
huge wave of homicides. But, while I have no desire to own a gun
myself, I insist on the *right* to own one.

********

Meanwhile, this is becoming less and less about Wolfe's politics and
more and more a discussion of our politics. Does anyone have any
strong sense of where Wolfe stands on the tarriff issue?

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
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