Tom Tomorrow reposted this today - in response to the gun-worshippers who are howling today

[Jessy169]

16. Our gun-nut paranoid heritage

is due in many ways to the history of how America was settled. Early pioneers spreading out across the wide-open spaces of America where the "savages" and dangerous wild animals lurked -- that was the reality from their point of view, and it WAS based on reality. Thousands and thousands of settlers, sleeping with their guns locked and loaded anticipating an attack and need to fire at any moment, their only peace of mind being that loaded gun under their pillow in the wilderness. Add to that the gun-slinging shoot-em-up lore of the wild west that became an intregal part of the American culture. It is no surprise that the "pioneer mentality" and gun-slinging good-versus-bad guy romantic notions still run deep and strong in the American psyche -- especially for those who are not educated or sophisticated enough to mentally overcome that load of crap and irrational fear that has far outlives its usefulness. And especially when we have a huge propaganda machine (Fox, Rush, et. al) that incites and manipulates the fears and uncertainties of the (brain dead, racist, homophobic, ignorant) Republican masses.