Innovation in History: How Guns Changed the World

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Wondering about the contribution of guns in scientific development? Learn more in the essay below!

Table of Contents

Introduction
First Guns and Their Contribution
Guns and Violence
Gun Control in the World
Guns in the USA
Guns, Media, and History
Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Our world is changing day by day: lots of scientists try to present numerous innovations, which improve people’s life, make it easier, and finally, help people become more powerful and control other people. Nowadays, the list of innovations, which have changed or are still changing the world and our history, is really long; and guns take not the last place in this list. When we talk about guns, we talk about power, violence, and deaths. It is known that one-third of all Americans have a gun at home, and during 2004, about 30,000 people died because of gunfire (Tonry, 73).

Our history is closely connected to the development of guns and their contribution among people. Sometimes, people just cannot find enough powers and time to think about the danger that caused by the use of guns; they only realize that a gun is some kind of power, and they should get this power as soon as possible.

During a long period of time, guns have changed the world considerably: they help to defend oneself; they make it easier and faster to kill and injure people, very often, innocent people; and they obliterate the border between life and death, for those, who cannot control own actions, thoughts, and movements.

First Guns: Contribution in Scientific Development

In fact, it is very difficult to find out when the first gun appeared. That genius, who realized that gunpowder could be propellant and injure, is still unknown. During numerous centuries, people fought against each other with the help of different swords and sabers. However, it was not very easy to use swords during the battles: they were too heavy and rather big.

The matchlock is considered to be one of the first useable hand-held guns (History of Guns and Firearms). Soldiers handed their matchlocks on their shoulders, so, it was not difficult for those soldiers to move for long distances. Killing people is not a good thing, however, it is human nature – to kill in order to save own life and win.

This is why the contribution of those matchlocks could be regarded as more or less positive aspect: killing people did not take much time, and those, who had to be killed, died in a short period of time and with less suffering. So, one of the first changes of the world, caused by guns, was the ability to kill or injure people within a short period of time. From that period of time, people got less time to think over their actions and the consequences of these actions; they could kill fast and take other person’s life for ever.

Guns and Violence

It is very difficult to comprehend why so many people know about the negative impact of gun distribution, still continue to sell and promote guns. People realize that the increase of gun prevalence lead to deaths and injuries increasing. However, they do not want to do anything in order to stop creating guns and forbid its using. For so many years, people try to stop violence and provide people with a chance to live safe and sound life. However, the increase of crimes and deaths cannot be stooped till guns are distributed for so many people. “More guns means more crime” (Malcolm, 219).

This simple truth should make some people to think that their activities encourage other people to choose wrong ways and make bad actions, crimes, and even kill innocent people. If a person has a gun in his/her hand, he/she feels unbelievable power over other people.

Lots of psychological aspects influence the decision to shoot or not to shoot. Even simple hand trembling can make the gun shoot, give a birth to violence, and take someone’s life away. One act of violence leads to another act of violence, so that violence becomes an integral part of this life. With time, gun violence will be a cultural phenomenon, and it will be quite difficult to control people’s actions and save people from themselves. This is another impact of guns on the world and our history – guns promote violence very often.

Gun Control in the World

Second Amendment Committee, Joint Together, or Violence Policy Center – all these organizations deal with gun control and other activities, which lead to violence decreasing. People need to be encouraged not to use guns and informed about terrible outcomes of gun usage.

The above-mentioned and many other organizations create numerous programs, present informative pieces of writing, and establish numerous centers in order to prevent violence and gun use. Some people find the idea of gun control as a kind of human rights’ violation according to the Second Amendment.

However, those people, who agree that the huge part of violence is caused by guns use, underline that the necessity of gun control is obvious. Some people just do not understand that so frequent use of guns encourage teenagers to use guns and solve own problems or frighten other people.

There are lots of rules and orders, which forbid guns selling and distributing to young people, however, clandestine marketing is developing, and lots of young people have a chance to buy a gun at any age. The only thing required is to know the places and not divulge information. Guns change the world in one more way – people start caring about own and other people’s safety and focusing on the development of gun control organizations, however, clandestine commerce puts under a threat all those attempts.

Guns in the USA

In fact, it becomes a good American tradition to use guns and other types of firearms as a kind of protection, a sport means, or a hunting tool. It is easy to buy a gun for one purpose, but use it for another purpose. In America, there are lots of guns cultures, which promote a gun as a means of entertaining or protection. “Urban minority street cultures, Civil War reenactors, rural white male deer hunters, and survivalists” (Carter, 246) may serve as good examples of organizations, which find it funny and useful to use guns.

The members of such organization should follow certain instructions and use guns only in certain places. However, no one can be sure that a young son or daughter will never find a gun at home and try to use it just because of own interest. One more significant point about guns in the USA is closely connected to the question of race.

Race inequality bothers many Americans; as a result of such inequalities, lots of fights and quarrels take place. Very often, to prove own ideas, people can easily use guns. It is very hard to explain, but when a person takes a gun in hands, some unbelievable power seizes him/her, and this person gets the desirable control over people and a chance to introduce own ideas and points of view. Of course, gun violence is not all about race and ethnicity.

Those people, who just do not want to search for compromise by means of talks, believe that a gun is the only way to win an opponent. This is why guns have an ability to change people’s mind and people’s ideas on how to solve problems; and such changes in people will certainly lead to considerable changes in the world history.

Guns, Media, and History

Without any doubts, media is one of the most influential means during all the times. People watch movies and different TV programs, listen to radio shows, and enjoy music – they learn more about this world, its history, and future forecasts this way. This is why guns in media also have a certain impact on the history and people’s attitude to life.

Violence in media is one of the hottest discussions during a long period of time. When a young man watches TV and realizes that a gun can make him more powerful, he tries to do everything possible to find out a gun and use it. By means of TV programs, people get to know how terrible accidents with guns changed the history and influenced our present and future. Kennedy assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder, Merlin Monroe’s death – media concentrates too much attention on these cases.

Is it possible that young people watch these informative programs and realized that one murder may become a sensation? According to these programs and movies, it is quite possible. This is why even by means of media, the use of guns becomes more and more popular and influential for the history.

Conclusion

People always care about own lives; however, they continue distributing guns and other means of violence. Guns have already changed our history and took so many lives. This is why we should stop gun violence and admit that guns should not have such power over people. People have so many chances to make this world safer and live in peace, and even if guns have already changed our past and our history, let us not to provide guns with a chance to influence our present and our future.

Annotated Bibliography

“A Brief History of Guns.” History of Guns and Firearms. 2009. Web.

This web site, one of the primary sources, which present reliable photos of guns and other weapons, is devoted to different kinds of guns, their history, and development. In this piece of work, the history of a matchlock and a flintlock is considered here. Clear paragraphs and simple language provide the reader with a chance to learn how gun makers developed new designs to help people use and carry guns.

Malcolm, Joyce, L. Guns and Violence: The English Experience. The United States of America: Harvard University Press, 2002.

This book is the primary source, as it describes the English experience concerning the use of guns and its further impact on society.The author of this book investigates the idea of gun control and the factors, which influence the development of debates, which are connected to guns in homes. Lots of people find it very useful to carry the gun at home in order to be safe; this source is a kind of analyzes of why this experience in the United States may cause negative outcomes.

Carter, Gregg, L. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture and the Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2002.

This source is the secondary one, as it presents the results of investigations concerning the matter of how the use of guns influences modern American society. With the help of this book, the reader can learn more about the burning issues about guns and Americans’ attitude to guns and comprehend why so many debates take place around the theme of gun control.

Tonry, Michael. The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

In this book, the reader learns more about criminal justice and control policy of crimes. With the help of this secondary source, the reader gets an opportunity to analyze the essence of crime and its outcomes.The fresh perspective, used in this source, allows the reader to get a clear picture concerning the numerous theories about crime and proper justice, why crimes happen and which efforts have to be taken at first in order to prevent these crimes in future.

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