I think this is a great thread, and we even got a song posted. I am a relatively liberal guy from the East Coast but I now live in Alaska which is kinda like Montana with an edge and lots of deep southern influence both in the flavor of Christianity and the ways of weapons.

One theme I hear again and again, and mostly subscribe to. The police are good at record-keeping and searching out the accused. They can't be everywhere. In a case of home invasion, the only help you're going to get is the help on hand, which is often the help you can put IN your hand.

Going back to my pre-Alaska days, I remember a hiking trip with an Englishman who, if I'm stating his observation accurately, said that the average Englishman, if not European, had a self-image of unimportance relative to society or the 'state'. This is not meant to be derogatory, the sense is that the average European doesn't seeing himself or herself making a difference. The average American had a much greater self image relative to the state, that he/she could make a difference, in fact, that there are cases where you have no one to rely on but yourself.

I'm not claiming the above is correct, neither was my English friend. He was making an observation on self perception. To finish it off, the average American was much more willing to take on the life-and-death issues that come with personal firearms as an individual question than those across the pond. And this willingness is more or less embraced by us as a society and even celebrated in the movies.

I wonder how our Canadian neighbors fit into the mix? I suspect they watch most of the activities south of the border in a state of severe bemusement.