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The evolution of killing in America

DEAR EDITOR:

At first, mankind killed for food to survive, by using rocks and sticks, since killing something big enough to fight back was extremely difficult. Sadly, killing moved to fellow human beings for all sorts of reasons — jealousy, greed, lust as well as war between groups of humans.

Almost immediately, the human mind went to work to develop a more efficient way to kill. The list below is a reminder of our progress:

Knives, spears, swords, bow and arrow, longbow, crossbow; single-ball rifles and pistols, cannon balls, single-shot shotguns, six-shot pistols, multi-shot rifles and shotguns, Gatling gun, machine gun, automatic pistols and rifles, flame throwers, tanks, bazookas, rockets, rocket launchers, small, medium and large bombs, cluster bombs, atomic bombs,and hydrogen bombs.

In every case, the desire to improve the efficiency of killing and to make it less personal was the driving force. Long lost is the original purpose of killing for food. The primary purpose now is just to kill.

Isn’t it amazing that we are surprised that we continue to make progress in our never-ending desire to kill with more and more efficiency?

In our desire to preserve what we perceive as a civilized society, we find it necessary to go to war with ourselves as well as others. While in the process we cross the line with what is considered a weapon of war. If killing is theoretically justified during a war, then and only then, are the weapons of war justified.

If you think I’m going to advocate for change in what the human race can do, you are going to be disappointed. Civilized societies only can exist as long as the general population will permit it. Uncivilized members of the general population will continue to use every means necessary to continue to use any killing tool invented to satisfy their personal or group need. At the rate we are going, the United States is regressing back to the early 1800s when everyone in the old West carried a weapon to both hunt and defend themselves. That was not always a civilized environment. Fortunately, civilized society did come to the whole country.

So at this crossroads, what would you have us do? It is our choice to remain civilized.

I, for one, do not want to walk around with a loaded pistol on my hip.

J.P. WAS

Warren

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