The Power of Myth: Freedom and Civilization

On the local classical station this morning they played music from an Italian ballet. A fisherman finds pearls in the ocean! Performed by the local ballet company in Bologna, Italy.

The tulip bubble (when prices of tulip bulbs rose, in the 1600's, to astronomical levels)..

So too Beanie Babies (well we still have a trunk-ful, maybe some day...)

What other myths of riches are out there, or just myths in general? The myth of the family farm. The myth of our right to own guns, no matter what, as if we were militia-men protecting our territory. A little Paul Revere in all of us.

Hey, I was a colonial in high school (go Colonials!) Very traditional mid-lantic type of team name. No you'd never find that out west. Maybe the stallions. Or the tercels (a kind of falcon, not to be confused with cars whose floor mats get underfoot and cause sudden acceleration).

Myth is strong in historic places, like Morristown back east. But just as we no longer wear tri-corner hats or powdered wigs, it is time to relegate some of these ideas to the shelf of history.

Much is written lately about gun laws. Even the British Economist magazine, perhaps able to see the U.S. more objectively from the other side of the pond.

Some people are decrying gun violence. Some are looking for more rights to keep their guns. A new era. A new awareness. We need to think about the civilization we are all part of. Why should someone have the "right" to own and hold a loaded weapon in the center of civilization?

How do we prevent unbalanced people from carrying out our worst fears with their weapons? Since courts have already decided that even in places like Chicago, or DC, that people must have their second amendment rights. To practice their militia skills on Michigan Avenue I guess, or on K-Street.

Should we spy on every citizen, and send alerts out on the unbalanced ones? What about crimes of passion? Should your computer interface have a "mood panel", and if you are suddenly unbalanced over some passion or anger escalating, also send the alert?

You out there who are reading this and creating an FBI file on me, what do you think?