Misreading the Right to Bear Arms
December 24, 2012 |
Photo Credit: Cheryl Casey | Shutterstock.com
Fundamentalism is often associated with religion, specifically when literal interpretations of religious texts drive dogma.
Religious fundamentalism exposes how commitments to the material thing can often create behaviors that contradict the larger principles. Consider how interpreting the scripturally-based truism "spare the rod, spoil the child" (Proverbs 13:24) as license for physically spanking or beating children stands in stark contrast to the recurring messages from Jesus about non-violence and the sanctity of children, and all living creatures in powerless circumstances.
Fundamentalism fails because it honors objects over principles. Such is also the case in political fundamentalism, specifically when a gun fetish trumps commitments to liberty and freedom.
Americans, for example, are a gun-loving people who have committed to the right
