Maggie's Farm

Quoted in a piece at NYM on homicide:

By the time European states became democracies, the populace had
accepted the authority of the state. But the American Revolution
happened before Americans had got used to the idea of a state monopoly
on force. Americans therefore preserved for themselves not only the
right to bear arms—rather than yielding that right to a strong central
government—but also medieval manners: impulsiveness, crudeness, and
fidelity to a culture of honor. We’re backward, in other words, because
we became free before we learned how to control ourselves.

We Americans are so darned uncivilized. Heck, I shoot people anytime anyone bothers me. Like when somebody tries to sneak into the 15 items or less supermarket line with 16 items. We all shoot jerks like that, here in the back woods of Connecticut.

Europe has a long tradition of feudalism, and they still emotionally cling to it like small children while speaking condescendingly about the messy freedom we have in the US. I'll take our messy freedom anytime over "respecting the authority of the state."

The Euros still seem to think of themselves as serfs, at heart. "L'etat, c'est moi" says me, a proud American.