Quote:
Originally Posted by Sigaba
From a political standpoint, they don't need to.
In general, conservatives base a great deal of their intellectual credibility in interpretations of America's past that have been either discredited thoroughly or updated so that they're paradoxically more comprehensive and also less definitive. (That is, the more you study American history, the less you know about American history.)
So, when conservatives speak/write of the "lessons of history," those lessons are likely to be out of date (by 30 to 50 years). From there, a person can just say "These guys don't know what they're talking about" and score a huge political point--even though that person may not know what he/she is talking about either. (This corresponding level of historical ignorance is often offset by the argument that the past should not determine how .GOV responds to present day issues, and/or that those very issues are legacies of past, which must be overthrown.)
A point that I've been making (or attempting to make) over the last year or two is that, until the American political right can (a) find the time to get "up to speed" on the changes to the historiographical landscape and/or (b) become more familiar with the historiographical framework of their own understanding of America's past, we need to be very careful about how we talk about the past so that we do not fall into that trap. (Or, worse, we provoke a senior academic historian (or two) from writing a book that destroys, point by point, the conservative view of America's past.)
One last point. Your comment about a "desired result" is a way to put the president, and others, into positions where they can walk the talk in which they say they agree that the Second Amendment establishes the inalienable right of gun ownership for law abiding citizens. That is, the president talks of a reduction in gun violence against children and showing a willingness to try solutions, then why not ask "Okay, what about regular mental health background checks on all school employees in the country, especially at public schools?" Why not suggest, "Okay, let's put veterans returning from OEF/OIF to work as armed security staff?" And then say, if those two options don't meet the criteria you set, we will try additional measures. (It is purely by coincidence that these two options don't help the Democratic Party politically. And none of the measures will unduly impact the ability of lawful citizens to buy, to own, or to sell fire arms.)
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First, thank you for taking the time.
Last first, I think it's been shown that options that might actually get to the (publicly) desirable result have been presented by one interest or another, yet carry no weight with those already target-fixated on their own political agenda. It may not be immediately tactically sound but, individually, I carry the sense that my starting point is what's right & what works. I do believe that if, individually, millions of people can take that refusal to wrestle in the mud politically because of what works and examine the offense given to someone's political agenda later (if ever) then we will be ahead. I do not believe these tyrant wannabe's wish to engage in anything approaching that which encroaches on their power goals. I hope they do not need to be engaged by other means but, if it comes to that, so be it.
I don't currently think there are yet those millions. But I don't believe that just because painfully obvious history lessons occur 30-50 years apart is reason to discard their outcome as something to avoid. What is a sufficient sample, what value of 'n'? That's been painfully recalled & listed as well. Legacies of mass graves, for instance, don't have a shelf-life. Gun control is about control; I know it & you know it. And while it's a 'quest' ("the more you study American history, the less you know about American history") I don't believe there is currently time to await a mass infusion of understanding of the (let me type this one carefully) historiographical framework of America's past.*
Cheers.
*
(Winters are long uper here Kamerad and I have that list of books you mentioned from those end-notes. As soon as I finish Clandestine Radio Operators and another coming into the SOG library, then it'll be one of Nash's. Just one of the rural townspeople here, so I hope he can tell a story. Unless you have a better recommendation. Just let it be not dry.