A Marine's answer to gun control

I love this story. It's an excerpt from an interview aired on National Public Radio (NPR) between an unnamed female interviewer and General Reinwald of the U.S. Marine Corps, who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout troop's visit to his military installation.

Interviewer: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to
teach these young boys when they visit your base?

General Reinwald: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing,
archery, and shooting.

Interviewer: Shooting!? That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?

General Reinwald: I don't see why. They'll be properly supervised on
the rifle range.

Interviewer: Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous
activity to be teaching children?

General Reinwald: I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper
rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.

Interviewer: But you're equipping them to become violent
killers.

General Reinwald: Well, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're
not one, are you?

Reportedly, the interview ended abruptly at that point. 

The assumption that the capacity to do harm necessarily means that one will do harm underlies much of the "thinking" of those who believe that the function of government is to protect us from ourselves. That's the justification for state-sponsored intrusion into virtually every aspect of our personal lives, and neither of the two predominant political parties are innocent of that kind of coercive mindset. They each attempt to enforce what they believe in different areas, but of course the basic premise — that they have any moral right whatsoever to tell other people how to live their lives — is never challenged, or even questioned.

So it's always refreshing when someone strips away the bullcrap and exposes the self-prepossessed arrogance that sits right down at the root of sanctimony. The self-righteous are always ready to let everyone know just how much more enlightened they are than the rest of the rabble. ("I'm a Sensitive, Caring, Important Person™, and you should take me very, very seriously!")

That kind of moral posturing has become commonplace among those who value political correctness over principle. They place their sense of self-righteousness above the freedom of others to make their own choices. They usually get government jobs...or work for operations that are supported by state-sponsored subsidies. And if they're really arrogant (or clueless), they run for political office.

Sanctimony only sells to victims who never question their assumptions...or don't even realize that they have any assumptions in the first place. You know...sheep — without which political correctness and politics in general could not exist.