I don’t know exactly what the lady had in mind, but I’m assuming, “have a good time” to a swinger probably involves some sort of kinky sex… possibly involving more than two participants. When I was a Christian fundamentalist, being propositioned like this would have most likely triggered a hostile, knee-jerk reaction from me. Back then I was pretty by the book about sex. It was only supposed to happen with two people, of different genders, and only within the confines of a church/state sanctioned marital union. Oh, and only the missionary position, in the dark was kosher.

I remember getting hit on once by a gay fellow. Well, it was more flirting that getting ‘hit on,’ but I didn’t respect the difference back then. I blasted the guy. I think I may have even pulled Leviticus 18:22 on him. Looking back on the encounter today, I regret my behavior. This guy was really nice, and in spite of my rudeness, was respectful of my beliefs. Today, I would have handled things much differently. I think I would feel honored that someone, whether male or female, found me attractive and/or interesting enough to inquire about getting to know me on an intimate level. I would probably thank them for their interest, but explain to them that I am already in a very fulfilling relationship.

The way I see it, guns are sort of like money. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need them. If I lived in a world where violence was not a possibility, I would gladly melt all my weapons down into something useful – like a garden hoe. unfortunately, we don’t live in such a world.

In the world I live in, we have poverty. Sure, most of it is completely artificial, but it exists none the less. Whenever you have ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ you will have crime. In this world  98% of the resources are hoarded and controlled by less than 4% of the population. And of the resources that are available to the masses, most of them are squandered and wasted needlessly. The resources of this planet are finite, yet we have an economic system that asserts that growth can be unlimited. As a result, people waste and waste in a frenzy of consumer gluttony, while millions starve around the world. The game we play here in the West is fun for a while, but when the oil stops flowing and the shelves run dry, these same people will turn into desperate animals. This doesn’t have to be.

In the world I live in wars are waged for profit. Hell, everything is done for profit. Countless people are murdered every year by the trained serial killers that we call ‘soldiers.’ And I’m not saying that soldiers are evil, by the way. Most of them don’t even understand that they are being systematically conditioned to be killing machines, sent forth to protect corporate interests. You want to know why conditions like P.T.S.D. exist? It’s because most human beings have a soul, and as much as the military machine tries to condition and beat it out of them – they still have a hard time massacring other people. Most wars, if not all of them, are unnecessary. They have unfathomable costs in human lives and irreplaceable natural resources. In fact, most people who die of violence, die of the violence caused by warfare, or the horrific conditions created by post-war famine and destruction of infrastructure. This doesn’t have to be.

In the world I live in, men are taught by their outdated religious traditions that they are superior to women. As a result, women are abused all over the world, and even regarded as property in some places. Little girls are trained to not esteem themselves as equals. Women are conditioned from birth that they are weaker and not as mentally competent as their male counter parts. They are programmed by our twisted culture to become mere sex objects, and as a result we all suffer. When you have a culture that diminishes the ability of over half of its population to be all that they can be, we all pay the price. It’s like injecting acid into one hemisphere of your brain. The other half might be fine, but I wouldn’t suggest trying to do any long division. Also, both women and men are taught that their bodies are evil. We are trained that our normal sexual desires are something to be suppressed, and our wicked bodies should be covered at all times. This culture has turned simple curiosity into violent sexual dysfunctions. As a result of this gender inequality and sexual shame we now have rapists in every community. Are prisons are filled with men who never learned how to control themselves. This doesn’t have to be.

((CLICK, CLICK)) So, it’s not that I love my guns… I don’t. It’s not that I want to use them on someone… I hope I never have to. It’s that I need my guns. As sick as it sounds… I need them. But, I long for the day when I won’t need them. I long for the day when humanity grows up, and realized that we are all in the same boat. If we intend to remain on this planet for much longer, we are going to have to get out shit together.