Sacralization of Self-determination?

I dispatched a missive to my brain trust this afternoon...

On background, there is an excellent series from CBC Radio Ideas podcast titled Myth of the Secular.  Episode Five (there are seven, earlier episodes are great too) examines the idea that "All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts." - Carl Schmitt, Political Theology.  We the people elevate the significance of the State to that of an ideal worth killing or dying for.  What then of a country - the USA (is there another that comes close?) - that idealizes the value of the individual above even the secular State or other forms of community? 

In that context, I'm knocking around some ideas related to the current guns and ammo buying panic.

My thesis:

While gun sellers have their profit motive, the panicked gun buyers are driven by fear.  They give this fear many names, but it goes beyond unmet need, beyond losing a hobby, beyond not being allowed to hunt, and even beyond being denied the ability to defend oneself against crime.  It penetrates deep into (unrecognized?) concepts underlying the Second Amendment, and into a place where classical liberal values do battle with atavistic impulses.  This fear tears away at the perception of one's role in relationship to the state, community, and family.  Is the Second Amendment a sacralization of the ideal that the individual common man must retain an unmitigated ability to shape the state by violence?  While the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are individual rights, they can only be applied in community.  Is the concept of a "well-regulated militia" - volunteers from the community engaged in the common defense - lost on modern conservatives, these reactionary white men, struggling with the loss of a world their fathers and grandfathers knew?  Is personal sovereignty a virtue to be held above all others?  Is this a sacralization of self-determination? 

Deconstruction:
 
I am afraid they will take away my guns... (and with them my heritage, identity, property, power)

I am afraid they will take away... (by threat of force, violate my sovereignty, reject my dignity, extinguish my ability to resist)

I am afraid they... (the anti-gunners, soccer moms, anti-hunters, liberals, environmentalists, minorities, urban elites, non-Christians, Democrats, a black president, blue states, federal regulators, the Supreme Court, international treaties, the UN, the Other)

I am afraid... (of loss of control, status, or face; of cognitive dissonance; of fear itself)

I... (which I hold more sacred than family, community, or state)

Archer Is Back!

And while it's definitely not for everyone*...

...some of the rest of us are having a fine time with Archer: Season Four.  Its immense wrong-ness just magnifies its massive righter-ish-ness.  Seriously, if Jonny Quest had been this cool I'd have never grown up.  I mean, is this the first cartoon to get that ringing in yours ears after you fire an RPG-7 inside a closed room right or what?  Those guys...  Could be the bourbon talking, or the Gummi Bears.  Just kidding...about the Gummi Bears.

*It's a cartoon, but not all cartoons are for kids.  Archer is most absolutely one of those.

PS Is it just me or am I racking up way too many guilty pleasures?  

At Least It's Better Than Teenage Vampires

Season 3 of The Walking Dead resumes next Sunday...

I get a little dispirited while examining the sociology of our fascination with zombie apocalypses.  My unease is magnified when I admit that I really enjoy AMC's take on the genre.  What the hell, it's a guilty pleasure.

• So, how will Daryl escape Woodbury? [as of 10 February 2013...resolved]
• Will Andrea side with right and justice? [not yet]
• What will Merle do now that he's been reunited with his baby brother? [resolved]
• Will Daryl and Carol ever admit the obvious to themselves and hook up? [uh oh]
• Carl and Beth?  Season 4? [first, live until Season 4]
• Can the katana wielding Michone ever fit in? [she's unconscious right now; maybe later]
• Will Rick give the Governor what fer?  I so want the governor to get what fer! [seems Rick has some very serious mental health issues to work through first...]

Ohhh, I get it...  The Walking Dead is a soap opera; one with guns, zombies, and none too subtle social metaphors.  If that truth had been a walker I'd be turning by now.  Mustn't forget to clear my calendar, lay in a couple pints of Ben and Jerry's, and get ready to lock the doors.

UPDATE: Previously, on AMC's The Walking Dead, Season 3.0

Not Every Webmaster Gets Her Way

A comic posted inside the office window of the webmaster at my university...

click on image for easier reading

And here's the website for our otherwise fine institution.  Hmmn...

They Can’t Put Anything On The Internet That Isn’t True

Where did you hear that?  The Internet...

Last week I called into question a claim by Global Security Experts that "3,600,000 home invasions occurred each year between 1994 and 2000."  To his credit, I received a response from Jordan Frankel, EVP at GSE, whose post at the LinkedIn ASIS International group linked to the questionable factoid.  His note read in part:

"We have removed the inaccurate stat as promised. I am curious to know if you will be contacting the dozens of other companies listing the same home invasion stats.”

Intrigued, I Googled “3,600,000 home invasions” to see if anyone else was using this severely unlikely number and - as the French model in the State Farm commercial says, "Bonjour!" - it turns out there are a mess of folks using this internet fact, either to reinforce their worldview or to drive business to their sites and cash into their wallets.  In the first three pages of hits there are 28 entries parroting this made up statistic, and only two calling it into question.  Yup, that’s dozens alright.  Whoudathunkit?

One has to go all the way to the bottom of the first page to find a voice of reason.  In June of 2011 Home Invasion News (?!!) did the legwork to run down the history of this egregious misinformation.

“This infographic was put into circulation by Interactive Holdings, LLC, a company headquartered in North Carolina that functions as a multifaceted holding company for various Internet, information technology, creative design, and marketing solutions. In other words, a marketing operation whose assignment — in this case — appears to have been driving traffic to local ‘bump resistant certified locksmiths.’”

“Since the infographic was created, things have changed a bit at the original website, bumpkeywarning.com. The graphic itself has been taken down, but some of the same misleading statistics still appear. In addition, a notice now appears on the ‘home invasion’ portion of the bumpkeywarning site: Interactive Holdings, LLC, owners of BumpKeyWarning.com make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented in this web site or web sites that are or may be linked to the BumpKeyWarning.com web site now or in the future. Access to and use of all information is at the user’s risk. Looks like the little infographic caused some issues.”

It’s been said that “A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”  That’s certainly true in this case.  Whew!

PS Jordan, there are not dozens of firms using this number, there are 16,700!  

Image credit: State Farm Insurance Company