America’s obsession with guns is bad for its soft power

Almost uniquely in the world, gun ownership is viewed by right-wingers in America as a matter of personal liberty, a right that gun-wielding conservatives refuse to give up to argue their supposed role in self-defense. They insist on not only keeping weapons in the home, but also carrying them around, with some states splitting hairs over whether or not their car should be concealed. They argue that people who kill are people, not guns, and therefore law-abiding carriers should not be denied their rights for the wicked actions of a few who go on a shooting spree. The flaw in their contention is that when human agency is required to pull a trigger, easy access to one can create a fatal impulse in the same way as actual premeditation. The more difficult it is to perform any rigorous task, the more likely it is that the use of the mind will interfere. Furthermore, matters of liberty must also yield to the imperatives of collective security. As an example, India cracked down on acid attacks by tightening the availability of acid; Its usefulness as a sanitizing agent was overshadowed by the magnitude of its weaponization, no matter how marginal. America should apply similar logic to its gun crisis. It should tighten gun control fast enough that it contributes to increasing rather than reducing American life expectancy.

Unfortunately, firearms restrictions remain subject to policy battles between safety-focused Democrats and status-quoist Republicans, with the sad result that a rifle banned in one state can be bought off the shelf in another. The polarization of politics further diminishes hopes of a consensus on guns. However, for its global appeal as an example of liberal democracy, America must find a way out. It is striking that a country traces its origins to the 1776 ‘common sense’ that no one has a divine right to rule, a republican proposition that is bought and sold around the world today, denying anyone life and The power of death should be allowed to run so easily over a fellow citizen. That technology has made guns more lethal over the years, making the country worse for watchers from afar who hope for a better understanding on the limits of liberty. There is no doubt that individual liberty has been an important aspect of America’s success story, and it is also responsible for a part of its soft power, the influence it exerts on others through the power of charm. But a casual flair for the force of arms diminishes his appeal with a hole in one every time he shoots. It could afford it once. But not in the 21st century.