First came the immigrants, settlers from distant lands, forced to leave their native regions for the hope of a better life. Some came for religion, some for basic freedom. Some, for a total change of scenery. And they found it.
Life took on a huge upgrade when people came to the New World. There was one catch- people had to rely on themselves and their God, whoever they held that to be. There was no hospital, no health care, no Federal Emergency Management Agency to wait on when a hurricane came along and flooded your neighborhood. There was no government to blame for bad economy. If your business recorded a loss at the end of the fiscal year, you closed up shop and found a different line of work. Life wasn't always a walk in the park. It was rough.
(Legend claims that famous singer Frank Sinatra borrowed his lyrics in the hit song "New York, New York" from an old Pilgrim tune titled "Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock". It went something like "If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere--". Ok, that's not entirely true.)
God has always had a huge part in making things work. Some might even say He's the only reason things work. The pilgrims knew this, and gave him full credit. This trait was passed on down the line a few generations until made its way onto the legal tender of the nation. In God We Trust. The founders of the greatest country on Earth weren't about to let the people forget who was responsible for their existencein this blessed land.
Guns were a tool back in the early times, and had a broad range of uses. Hunting, self-defense, target practice, hunting, celebratory noise making, self-defense, hunting, etc. It was common knowledge that survival in a harsh world (whether it be shooting at man or beast) meant knowing how to shoot first, and shoot accurately. It was also widely known that guns don't kill people, but rather people kill people. The firearm was an accepted implement, commonplace in every home, and proudly worn on the hip rather than kept hidden in a closet at home for fear of legal repercussions.
There was no 911 to call if someone broke into your house in the middle of the night. If a criminal was caught breaking and entering, the judgement was fast, accurate, and guaranteed. There wasn't time for the citizens to lock the felon up for months at a time to await punishment. If you were stupid enough to assault your neighbor's house, the neighbor was within their full legal right to shoot you. With a gun.
If you stole a horse, that was the early form of grand theft auto, and was punishable by death. Possibly with a gun. If you cheated on your spouse, you and your accomplice got publicly humiliated, and the instigator was occasionally executed. Often, with a gun. Divorce was a simple and cost-effective process. The grieving spouse got whatever the philanderer had, including the house, with no need to file for child support, alimony, or do any of the silly paperwork. Sometimes, the cheating spouse was so sleazy that drastic measures needed to be taken... with a gun.
People back then understood the way God made them, so they weren't surprised when they woke up one morning PREGNANT. Everybody knew that sex led to babies and you didn't engage in such practice out of wedlock for fear of hell and damnation. You either got married real fast to fix the situation or... or else. There wasn't a way to reverse having a kid either. If you decided to sacrifice a few irresponsible minutes of a good time for a lifetime of parenthood, so be it. You danced the dance and now it's time to pay the band.
Every once in awhile, neighbors get out of sorts with one another. Should there be a legitimate dispute, calling up the attorney wasn't an option. You either agreed to disagree, fought it out with your fists, or if it was serious enough, challenged the other feller to a duel.
Should you be found guilty of murder, the town got together and decided to murder you back. No life sentence, no standard 6.5 year prison term with the option to get out early for good behavior, no "three strikes and you're out". The community believed that a criminal's absolution for such a sin was up to God, and that it was their job to arrange the meeting between the two.
After a few decades in this manner, people began to get a little soft. It became expedient to spend mountains of public tax money on prisons and court systems. (Britain had the right idea for awhile--just ship all your felons off to a desert island to fend for themselves and kill each other off.) Eventually, the convicted criminals started getting better living conditions than the law abiding citizens on the outside. It even got so bad that the courts decided that the criminals were actually the victims.
Before too long, "gun" was a bad word, and if you got caught using one in self-defense, you'd get a trip to prison right alongside your aggressor, assuming he survived. If your neighbor didn't like the look on your face, the brand of your car, the color of your house, or the way you mowed your lawn, he could make a phone call to his lawyer and subpoena your whole way of life right into the ground.
To make matters worse, even "God" became a bad word to use in reference to one's beliefs. It's more useful as a vein interjection. The people felt no need for God anymore. The belief system turned from "faith in the unseen" to "faith in the fully tangible". With this attitude spreading, Atheism, anarchy, and nihilism became a fully acceptible way to behave.
Murder began to be considered a way of "acting out", the end result of an abused childhood, or some other traumatic event. The person could be forgiven and possibly even rehabilitated through a series of stress reducing techniques beginning with incarceration and ending with counseling and eventual release back into the community with a clean bill of health. It was no longer God's job to forgive. God, who had designed and directed the construction of this nation, is now thought to be just a fairy tale, an unrealistic and weak belief that only divides human beings.
It's been an interesting transition from 3 or 400 years ago to now. Definitely worth the trip. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Having seen throughout history the recurrence of ignorance, I make a plea: don't forget the past. It's the only thing that will get you through the future. We can't trade this life out for another newer model. We're all in this world together. It's up to us to make the change, and there's a bunch of slack to pick up. So, spread the word. It's time for the next Revolution. In the timeless words of Twisted Sister, "We're not gonna take it anymore!".
