"You want 'consensus'? I'll give you consensus, Pilgrim..."

Penn, who has been on a roll lately, has another Comment of the Day regarding the prospects of a cultural shift in public attitudes toward guns in America. I’ll have some thoughts afterwards, but right now, here is Penn COTD on the post, Ethics Quiz: Holder’s “Brainwash” Comment:

“I’m seeing a problem here that’s as insoluble as “what to do with the homeless.”  It comes up again and again: defending the right to bear arms against teaching non-violence — okay, that’s simplistic, but I think you know what I mean. Since arguments on both sides have been validated, their proponents feel duty-bound to reiterate them.

“Granted, consensus is a no-go in our culture. You win or you lose: compromise is a dirty word, and a win/win situation, while given lip service as a goal (e.g. good sportsmanship), is not an acceptable outcome.  Thus neither argument, in theory or in practice, takes a step further in solving in the short-term the problem of what to do with an increasingly violent society (schools, families, criminals, celebrities, etc.), a society embedded in an ever-shrinking, increasingly threatening world. Thinking that these guns/no guns arguments have some pragmatic use keeps us, so to speak, backward.

“I think most people recognize that neither one is a solution. Thus arises a majority position that is even less satisfactory than the polarization. The old laissez faire policy, in no particular order: (1) it’s okay to beat my child because I was beaten and, see, I’m just dandy — I am the judge of what is violent; (2) Nobody agrees on what works or they keep changing back and forth so I’ll just go on doing what I’m doing (3) whatever isn’t working is the fault of things beyond my control or that I don’t understand (schools, corporations, the law, the police, the neighborhood; (4) “History repeats itself” — we can wait it out; (5) there is/will be a study group, organization, politician, or superhero who will come along and fix it; (6) I have chosen to trust this or that news source, guru, relative or buddy to decide for me; or, as corollary, send around a petition and I’ll sign IT or put IT on the ballot for me to vote for … whatever “it” is; and (7) I have/don’t have a gun, so I’m already on the right (correct) side, and that’s the end of it.

“I have seen consensus work. It’s a slow — even ponderous –, careful, thoughtful, often uncomfortable, giving process that requires all participants to find out and understand, in a colloquial sense, where everyone else is coming from, regardless of status. It involves recognizing and sharing responsibilities rather than asserting rights.  It is one of those decision-making processes that need to put society before the individual.  It’s not at all American. (But then, of course, it won’t work here, will it? Too bad.)”

I’m back.

I really like the comment, and I really disagree with its assumptions:

• Consensus, in the literal sense, is impossible in a society as diverse and individualistic as U.S. society, but cultural shifts occur all the time. The examples I cited in the post are real, and some of them are fairly recent. The culture is nearing a sufficient consensus to cause a shift, for example, that government can’t be trusted…in fact, that institutions can’t be trusted. There is a growing consensus that taxes have to rise. Two decades ago, the idea of gay marriage nauseated a majority of the public. Today a majority accepts it as fair and benign. 60 years ago, most Americans believed that African-Americans were inferior to whites, and that women couldn’t be trusted to hold management positions. Those shifts has been dramatic and permanent.

• Normal people compromise all the time; so do successful politicians and leaders. The fact that ideologues get a lot of publicity doesn’t mean that they represent the cultural norm. They don’t. They are outliers, and always will be. Why? Because if you don’t compromise in a democracy, you fail more often than not.

• The six positions Penn listed omit what I would argue is the most powerful, logical and common one: “Most people are responsible, given some guidance and proper messages from society, and should not be prevented from having access to reasonable means of protection and self-defense that does not require reliance on the state. There will always be people who abuse their rights, and they will cause a great deal of harm, damage and tragedy, none of which justifies taking away the freedom of everyone else.”

• America is not growing more violent. It is undeniably less violent than ever before. The crime statistics show this clearly. The belief that the U.S. is more violent arises from the “shark attack phenomenon.” Like shark attacks, local violent episodes are more widely publicized than ever, so the public’s fear is magnified along with the false belief that the phenomenon is rising. If you want to see violence, look at the Seventies—40 years ago.

• Of course cultural consensus works in America. It’s extremely American, and works faster in this country than any other nation I know of. That’s one of the nation’s strengths, and also a constant peril.

I just think America will never stop loving guns.