Noonan: Why We Buy Guns

The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan writes about the overwhelming tidal wave of selfishness which characterizes our nation's politicians. She identifies a nontrivial unintended consequence:

We're in a crisis. We've been in it since at least 2008 and the crash, and the wars. We are in unprecedented trouble. Citizens know this. It's why they buy guns. They see unfixable America around them, they think it's all going to fall apart.

In Washington (and New York) they huff and puff their disapproval: Those Americans with their guns, they're causing a lot of trouble. But Americans think they're in trouble because their leaders are too selfish to face challenges that will do us in.

Our current political climate feels long-term unsustainable. I am reminded of economist Herbert Stein's Law: If something cannot go on forever, it will stop. In this case the "it" is our political system, when it stops people want to be able to protect themselves and their families.