Filmmaker Michael Moore's (2002) film Bowling for Columbine documents the tragedy at Columbine High School where 13 students and a teacher were murdered by two students with guns. In the film, Moore argues that it is not guns that are violent, but rather the people who use them in violent and criminal ways, a position that he appears to have adopted from the National Rifle Association. His main argument is that American violent crime rates are the highest in the industrial world because American culture is violent. I agree with Moore's perspective, but with qualifications.
Moore's logic is valid. Just as one cannot blame the telephone for crimes committed over the phone and it is ridiculous to blame the Internet because there are people that misuse it, it must be acknowledged that a gun in the hands of a level-headed and nonviolent person is an excellent protection device. The gun cannot really be blamed for the many deaths due to the use of weapons; it is a person who pulls the trigger every time. Even accidental gun-related deaths are the responsibility of a person, someone who failed to take adequate safety precautions. On the other hand, there are few people so level-headed and nonviolent that they would never, under any circumstances, lose their temper and experience enough rage-at least for a few seconds-to want to hurt someone else. All it takes is a few seconds and an available gun. In that split second where a gun is there and the person has a quick decision to make, what will encourage him to shoot and what will encourage him to hold back, assuming that his own personality is not the issue? It is culture.
In a violent culture, people become inculcated with violence. They see violence on TV and in the movies, read it in books, experience it in children's games and toys, and watch it in the news. Even music-especially rap music-is full of it. Violence is ubiquitous in America. It flows...