I want to explore one of the differences between urban and country folk. Growing up, I knew that most people who lived in the country had several guns in the house. They would have a shotgun for hunting waterfall or upland game birds. They have a high-powered rifle for deer hunting. They also probably had a 22 rifle that was used for rabbit hunting and for many other purposes. Each of the guns had a primary purpose, which was to provide food. I was taught that a gun was a tool just like a hoe would be for food coming from the garden.
Occasionally, a gun served another purpose. I remember my grandmother killing an animal that was after her chickens – protecting our food supply. More recently, I had a friend who had to solve a problem with a deer rifle. You need to know a bit about black bears. When they wake up from hibernation in the spring until the fall, they are eating machines. You have probably heard that you do not want to get between a mother bear and her cub or cubs. The same could be said about getting between a bear and what it thinks is its food is. My friend woke up one morning to a bear trying to get into her house by the front door. Usually, you can scare away by yelling at them. That method didn’t work for her. She thought the bear was going to knock down her door, getting into her home. She got the deer rifle. She shot the bear through the door, killing it.
Tell my friend she shouldn’t have guns in her home. You know what her reaction would be. On the other hand, if you live in an urban area, you wouldn’t think about home invasion by a bear. That’s how one side of this country doesn’t know what the other side experiences. We need to see the problems and tribulations of the other side. You wouldn’t fault my friend for having a high-powered rifle and ammunition in her home once you heard her story. What person living in an urban area would see the need to defend their home against a wild animal? None!
That’s one reason for the enormous divide between urban and country folk. How do we close this divide? One answer has to educate the other side about our hopes, dreams, and problems. We will see that our hopes and dreams are much the same, but our problems are vastly different.
