Re: LOTR and 20th Century Western European Prejudices

On Wed, 3 Dec 2003 13:47:31 -0000, Adam Canning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>If the Army of the Worldwide Islamic Jihad fights its way as far as the 
>Frankische Wald, the French will already have gone nuclear.

Against the Enemy?  Or as part of yet another pre-emptive surrender?


-- 
But underlying the gun control struggle is a fundamental division in
our nation.  The intensity of passion on this issue suggests to me
that we are experiencing a sort of low-grade war going on between two
alternative views of what America is and ought to be.  On the one side
are those who take bourgeois Europe as a model of a civilized society:
a society just, equitable, and democratic; but well ordered, with the
lines of responsibility and authority clearly drawn, and with decisions
made rationally and correctly by intelligent men for the entire nation.
To such people, hunting is atavistic, personal violence is shameful,
and uncontrolled gun ownership is a blot upon civilization.

On the other side is a group of people who do not tend to be especially
articulate or literate, and whose world view is rarely expressed in print.
Their model is that of the independent frontiersman who takes care of
himself and his family with no interference from the state.  They are
conservative in the sense that they cling to Americas unique pre-modern
tradition- a non-feudal society with a sort of medieval liberty writ
large for every man.  To these people, sociological is an epithet.
Life is tough and competitive.  Manhood means responsibility and caring
for your own.

                - B. Bruce Briggs, "The Great American Gun War"