Naming the Powers
Slogans are political devices that are designed to indoctrinate the mind with their unsubstantiated claim; they are short sayings that serve as rhetorical statements whose purpose is to stifle critical thought. I want to address the slogan, ‘guns don’t kill, people do’. The first problem with this slogan is that it does not recognize the power of objects. Objects stir emotions, ignite the imagination, and identify their use and purpose simply be being an object. Objects can be offensive, shocking and profane, or they can be pleasing, aesthetically beautiful, and serve the common good.
Objects are not neutral realities without inherent meaning, this is particularly so when the object becomes a symbol for a political or religious ideology. Naturally, the attempt to place God’s approval on an ideological claim is a powerful move when seeking to support or develop a slogan. The right to bear arms in the U.S. is exalted to a sacred status and the object (a gun) has become a symbol of freedom and individual autonomy for the right to kill. In effect, in America, every citizen is given the right to kill another human being with a gun, as long as their judgment to do so is compatible with the law.
The slogan, ‘guns don’t kill, people do’ disassociates the physical object used to kill from the person using the object. I think any object designed for killing a human being exists because evil is in the world. So, it is correct to claim that a gun designed solely for killing human beings is associated with the evil that exists in the world. Such an object ignites the idea that killing others is a necessary act and justified with a long history of human beings killing one another.
I remember sitting in a restaurant with my family in the Philippines during the last years of the reign of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The PNP (Philippine National Police) were armed with M-16s, pistol grip shotguns and often a 45 pistol. Sitting with my wife and children enjoying a cool desert on a hot day and knowing the man at the doorway held in his hands the power to reap havoc so efficiently and with such force that any effort on my part to stop him would most likely be inconsequential was an eerie feeling. This was especially so because many times I witnessed these men drinking and carrying their weapons while intoxicated.
