A World with Lao Tzu’s Views Some of the most debated topics in America are based on politics. Everyone from homemakers to astronauts have their personal opinions of how the country should be governed. With so many political opinions and so little facts being used in decision making in our government, most of the pressing issues seem to be increasingly growing. There is very little consensus in our country today, hence bipartisanship being a hot topic among politicians. In my opinion, politicians act off of ego fighting to protect the political party with which they are associated. Often the common good of America is an afterthought when addressing issues in the country. People allow many factors to get in the way of everyday living …show more content…
A big debate in America today is gun control. The recent suggestion to limit or eliminate automatic weapons has caused many different reactions. As case in point, many people have begun stockpiling these weapons in fear of a total weapons ban. Surely stockpiling was not the result intended for “gun control.” In accord with Lao Tzu that “If you don’t trust the people you make them untrustworthy” (25), the government should emphasize less prohibitions and have more trust in its citizens. Lao Tzu writes “The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be.” (29) and this is true in many ways in America. Regarding weapons, should we have more or should we place strict limits on them? Well, if we studied Lao Tzu’s writings such a debate would not exist. While many people are fighting for their second amendment rights, many would argue that when a gun falls into the wrong person’s hands this could lead to devastation. One of the first suggestions after the Sandy hook shootings was to arm the teachers in schools; this alone can lead to the same devastation as a weapon falling into the wrong hands. Who is to say that a teacher will not have a bad day and decide to take her life and all of his/her students? In fact, who is to determine that the teachers within these schools are mentally sound? I know that many will not find comfort in knowing that they are dropping their children off to a heavily armed institution. Guns do not bring comfort
The American society has for long struggle with the debate and issue of private gun ownership. There are the advocates proposing lenient laws to allow more gun possession while the people against it calling for stringent laws to control the situation. For many centuries, since the enactment of the Second Amendment and even during the slavery period, gun ownership remains an issue to debate. The negative effects have been the harassment of the minority and the vulnerable as well as increased crimes. On other hand, it has helped promote the security of the people and ensure there is no violation of people’s rights to own guns as required by the Second Amendment. As such, gun control and ownership remains a controversial and hot topic of discussion
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“Legal restraints on the lawful purchase of guns will have little effect on the legal use of guns” (pg.125). Author James Q. Wilson, a professor of management and public policy at the University of California in Los Angeles writes the article “Just Take Away Their Guns” to provide the American public with evidence of why taking away their guns will have little effect on crime in the United States. “Just Take Away Their Guns” was published into the New York Times Magazine in March, 1994. Professor Wilson, author of many books such as “Thinking about Crime,” “Bureaucracy,” “The Moral Sense,” and “Moral Judgment” uses statistics to advocate for perspective on gun control. The article not only addresses the use of guns but also provides a lot of textual evidence to support the author’s claims related to legal restraints on lawful purchases of guns. Firearms present in the homes of American citizens, while potentially dangerous, provide these citizens with a sense of security.
James Q. Wilson a former teacher at Harvard University understands that taking guns away from the common people will only reduce the chance of surviving a possible attack of any sort of intruder.”Those that they cannot buy,
Guns under the control of the government are able to show who is buying the guns and is able to tax the guns. Gun control is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. I chose to do the moral issue of gun control because I am for limited gun control. In this paper, I will argue whether gun control is necessary for the United States or does the government have the right to ban guns from the citizens.
Lao-Tzu's "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching" and Machiavelli's "The Qualities of a Prince" both have the ultimate goal of making better leaders. The tactics that each writer chooses to present as a guide for the leader are almost opposite of each other. Today's American government would benefit from a combination of the two extreme ideas. Lao-Tzu's laissez-faire attitude towards the economy, as well as his small scale, home defense military is appealing to a liberal person. Machiavelli's attitude towards miserliness and lower taxes, while being always prepared for war, would appeal to a conservative person. The writers are in agreement on some issues, such as taxes, but other ideas,
The debate over stricter gun laws has been ongoing in the United States for quite some time now. Individuals who oppose stricter gun control laws argue that the second amendment to the constitution of the United States constitute part of the bill of rights that protect the right of American citizens to bear arms, and any attempt to set up laws for gun control will be a direct violation of this (Hofstadter 10). They argue that the primary purpose of the amendment was to ensure that American Citizens had the capability to protect themselves against criminal activities and defend the country against external aggression. From a personal perspective, the recent surge in instances of gun violence in the United States of America indicates that stricter gun control laws are necessary for the safety of the American citizenry. Thus, this paper is going to focus on highlighting the benefits of more stringent gun control laws and why members of the public should support it.
Throughout this paper I will be challenging the arguments of Jeff McMahan’s paper Why Gun ‘Control Is Not Enough where he concludes that the only effective form of gun ‘control’ would be for The United States to make it illegal to shoot a gun of any type. He begins this argument by citing the “central pillar” of the argument for those who are anti-gun control is that when more individuals own guns, there is a mindset that the entire population is safer. With this logic, it can be inferred that citizens feeling unsafe in the current environment of their country are those seeking protection, one way being through the purchase and ownership of a firearm. Safety is imperative part of ensuring peace of mind, which then impact the peace of the
While Americans were contemplating gun control proposals in the wake of mass shootings at a Colorado School, another gunman massacred 50 people in a club in Orlando. This incident brought heated political exchanges between President Obama and Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. It is estimated that in 2015 alone, there were more than 351 mass shootings in the United States. This is a worrying trend that should be reversed as soon as possible. Surprisingly, the trend has divided Americans into two groups. On one extreme end, there are those Americans who believe that the government should enforce gun control. On the other end, some Americans insist that stricter gun controls will not help in the fight against killings. In this light, this paper will try to provide a detailed analysis of the gun control debate while highlighting the various points made by the proponents and opponents of the gun control. The essay posits that gun control is counterproductive.
According to the Coalition for Gun Control, last year a total of 291 people were killed by handguns in Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Japan, and Switzerland. In the United States more than 24,000 people will be killed by the end of this year. So what is the big difference between the U.S. and these other countries? In these other countries it nearly impossible to buy any kind of gun. In these countries there are no gun shows. In these countries you can’t buy a gun at a pawnshop or your local Wal-Mart. These countries have strict gun laws and are all about gun control. In this paper I will discus the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment, why guns are such a problem in the U.S., and why guns are more likely to kill a friend
Today, we have discussed the current situation of gun ownerships in the U.S., and the tragedies associated with the abuse of guns. My proposal is to pass more gun control laws or policies to ensure a safer country. Consequently, one possible solution could be a background checking system which will effectively limit the opportunity for criminals to own guns. Nevertheless, until today, Americans have not reached consensus on gun control laws. At the end of my speech, I won’t urge you to sign on any “Gun Control Petitions”. But, maybe after today’s dinner, you would like to have a talk on gun control with your friends. And maybe you would like to think about the benefits you derive from the freedom of firearms, and also the losses you bear at
As one of the most controversial issues in today’s society due to the numerous tragic shootings around the world, gun control attracts many opinions. James Q. Wilson’s essay, Just Take Away Their Guns, features his solution to the dangerous dilemma and discusses his reasoning. He believes that eliminating the plethora of illegal guns in America would limit crime and shootings. Wilson feels that the most effective method would be police frisks, where they would search suspicious citizens for unauthorized guns. While one may question how successful this will be, James Wilson’s use of facts, tenable sources, and his exploration of all flaws in the idea make for a strong argument in favor of his plan.
For a nation as advanced as the United States the death of thousands of people each year is an issue affecting and concerning every American. With this problem occurring almost every year, the question of whether or not gun licenses can guarantee the safety of citizens throughout the country has been raised. With the number of deaths created by firearms each year, the need for enforcing stricter gun-control laws has grown increasingly. In addition, with the amount of fear throughout the country, and concern for protection, many people are beginning to buy firearms through simple and easy ways. Throughout America there are numerous ways for citizens to find and purchase weapons, whether it is in a gun store or online, the possibilities are endless.
He was a philosopher attributed with the writing of the Tao-Te-Ching and the reputed founder of Taoism. ("Tao" meaning the way of all life, "Te" meaning the fit use of life by all men, and "Ching" meaning text.) Lao Tzu was not his real name but rather an honorary title given to him by his followers meaning "Old Master".
Lessons from the Sun Tzu theory of war about potential war between Vietnam and China in 21st Century