Is anyone else as worried as I am?

Has the United States become an overly militarized state right under our noses? I fear that the answer may be yes.

I was home in Baltimore this weekend for Turkey Day and I happened to glance at a copy of the Baltimore Examiner , in which the headline read "Bill aims to outlaw paintball, BB, pellet guns in Baltimore" The Baltimore City Council is considering restricting the purchase and use of paintball and BB guns to licensed entertainment facilities and no longer allowing ordinary citizens to purchase them. The reasoning behind the bill is because these "toy" guns have been used to commit real crimes such as robberies. The irony in all of this is that instead of trying to get rid of toys that look like guns, shouldn't we be trying to get rid of real guns? If I'm going to get robbed on the street, I'd much rather the guy be holding a paintball gun instead of a real gun, so in case he gets nervous and pulls the trigger, I just have to buy a new jacket instead of spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I think most people would probably agree with that, but the notion of outlawing real guns isn't even an option. How did we get to the point when the individual right to carry a weapon overrides all appeals to collective security and the common good?

In another example of how American society has become overly militarized, the NYPD has yet again used excessive force against unarmed black men, using the "oh, I thought he had a gun" excuse (the NYPD seems to never get tired of using that one). NYPD fired 50 bullets, only half of which actually landed anywhere close to their intended targets. Has anyone thought that if normal citizens weren't allowed to walk around with guns, maybe cops would be a little less trigger happy? Not to take any blame away from cops because I'm sure everyone (including myself) has their issues with cops, especially the NYPD, but in such a militarized society in which anyone you meet could potentially have a concealed weapon, I could understand a cop being a little jumpy.

My concern, however, isn't limited to ease in which Americans can obtain firearms, but rather my concern extends to the militarized nature of our society as a whole. It would not be difficult to make the argument that the ridiculous amount our government spends on defense has just as much to do with economics as it has to do with actual defense. As proven by German militarization leading up to World War II and our own militarization during the same period, nothing jump starts an economy like gearing up for war. Upon emerging from WWII as the unquestioned western pole of a bi-polar world, the US was reluctant to sacrifice the economic gains reached through militarization, especially with the Soviets nipping at our heals. And even today, with the Soviet threat long gone, war and military build up continues to be one of the main drivers of our economy. I urge anyone who questions that assertion to look at the huge profits defense suppliers and contractors are making through various wars and military operations around the globe and the existence of, by some accounts, over 700 US military bases in over 40 countries. Not only is our society becoming very militarized, but we successfully project our bellicose culture abroad.(This could quite easily lead to a discussion of the false claim that the US has always been the "reluctant" imperialist, but I'll save that discussion for another time).

So I commend the Baltimore City Council in trying to lower crime in the city, but, unfortunately, I fear that the problem of violence in that city or any other across the nation goes much deeper than whether people are allowed to carry around paintball guns.