(urth) The Politics Of Gene Wolfe

Jack Smith jack.smith.1946 at gmail.com
Fri Jul 2 11:30:03 PDT 2010


Whatever views we readers may hold regarding the 2nd amendment, it appears
that our author likes to arm his characters.

1.  Severian openly carries his sword on Urth.  Dr Talos carries a concealed
one.
2.  Silk, the best man on the Whorl, uses many weapons.
3.  In the ancient world, Latro and his companions are armed.
4.  Guns frequently appear in Wolfe's contemporary American settings,
like *Castleview
*and F*ree Live Free.*
*
*
*Of course, weapons may just be used for dramatic effect.   However, our
author seems to believe that weapons can be used for good as well as evil.
No blanket condemnation of lethal force and lethal instruments.*
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On Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 1:38 PM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> >>> The intent of the second amendment is to allow the citizenry to more
> >>> readily defend themselves against the government, when this becomes
> >>> necessary, as it inevitably does.
>
> There is a classic A.E. Van Vogt story called The Weapon Shop which
> addresses
> this issue using that interpretation.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weapon_Shop
> Great pulp SF story. I loved it.
>
> And didn't Gene Wolfe mention Van Vogt in Fifth Head of Cerberus? I bet he
> has
> read that story.
>
> Anyway, the wording of the Second Amendment is-
>
> >"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State,
> >the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
>
> To me this wording suggests an interpretation counter to the standard
> Libertarian view which seems to focus on the word "free" and ignores the
> other
> 26 words. Bearing arms would seem to be meant for the defense of the state
> not
> to attack the state or defend against it. A "well regulated militia" sounds
> like
> a state organized function to me not some sort of individual defense
> against
> the state or lawless brigands or wild animals.
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-- 
Best wishes,
Jack
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