Why I Don’t Like Guns (It’s Not Political)

Power without discipline is unnatural.

If ever there was a loaded topic (pun intended)…

The question of guns is one of the most divisive discussions in modern America. One side of the argument seems to be moving more and more toward banning a rather arbitrary selection of models and characteristics, while the other wants absolute and unrestrained access to their firearms. There are true extremists on both sides, some who want to ban anything that can be called a weapon, while across the road are folks who want to own their own tank and F16. But most people fall somewhere in the middle. I’m not trying to end that discussion and I have no desire to pursue the conversation from a political or legislative perspective.

I want to discuss it from the warrior’s stance.

Like a gun, power itself is neutral. It is what the person who possesses the tool does which determines whether it finds itself in the service of good or evil. It is interesting though that in both Eastern and Western cultures, wisdom teaches that power should be only be gained after the impulses and egos have been disciplined.

Therefore, it is in the path to power where culturally we’ve agreed to develop controls aimed at forging character, moral integrity, and discipline (child to adult, apprentice to…