Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
I think that there is an unequivocally deep connection between the guns and American culture. The core of the issue is, as with many American issues (immigration, race wars, etc) is that America is an extremely insecure and fearful nation. A lot of this stems from a poor education system, as ignorance is the number one driver of fear and hate.
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It goes right back to the founding and settlement of the country. Many of the early settlers were religious refugees, who carried a deep, deep resentment of secular authority. Others were indentured servants, who after meeting their terms of servitude, fled into essentially ungoverned wilds and borderlands to scratch out a subsistence. The bogeyman of a king/master following the self-reliant individual to his new home and depriving him of his freedom is imprinted deeply on the American psyche. Also, much of America was settled before there was any authority to impose order with a monopoly on violence, so a violent honour culture persisted.
Canada has an entirely different history, with merchants arriving first, then the law (RCMP), then settlers.