What Cheney's shotgun accident means to all Americans, gun owning or not.
February 20, 2006
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Everybody knows by now that Cheney shot his huntingmate out quail hunting in a brushy area. Things like that happen all of the time, though it always sounds a note of caution to all us hunters. Many can recall stories of terrible accidents like the person who killed himself lowering a gun out of a tree, or as was the case of my neighboor peppering his friend with bb-shot. Not good, but still hunting accidents are rarer then automobile accidents.
This incident should be a reality check for a lot of people. We all should be more careful, particularly in brushy areas, and wear orange during hunting season. We shouldn't shoot until we know things are clear. Yet, on the other side of the isle we need to understand that people do hunt, and that accidents happen. Unfortunate? Definately. Yet it shouldn't be a call neccessarly for tougher safety laws or penalities for carelessness with firearms.
City people need to understand that gun ownership is just part of rural culture, much like Rap music and violence is city people. To many of us, the values that make up city life don't make a lot of sense. The things city people do to survive, are much different rural people. Maybe city people don't need to understand people like Dick Cheney or hunting, but at the same ttime that means we don't have to understand them. Maybe we can live in our own spheres.
Whether or not you consider yourself a red or blue American, a Democrat or a Republican, the truth is we all need to respect our differences. The standard we should always follow is maximum tolerance for differences in lifestyle and choice.
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