General Peter van Uhm presented a logical approach to choosing a gun in his profession on TEDxAmsterdam on November 1, 2011.
We conducted an interesting exercise in our office over this video. We each watched the video and then provided our comments or take-aways on what General Peter van Uhm was conveying.
We all come from different backgrounds, different perspectives about guns, and different experiences with guns,
Gun Owner
A very thoughtful overview of the correct need for a gun. However, it is problematic that certain individuals have no ethical or moral compass. That unfortunately leaves humankind teetering on a precipice until we can figure out how to control the evil individuals. Good and evil have been with us since the dawn of time!
Retired Army Officer
I watched this video with pride. Pride for the uniform, the general, the wounded soldier, and the instrument we use to keep our country safe – the gun.
I have been asked many times in my 22-year Army career about the personal drive and commitment soldiers display every day in a world few civilians experience. At any given time, there is 0.4 percent of the American population on active military service, with 36% in the Army.
What motivates them to volunteer, go through rigorous training, separate from their families, deploy to distant lands, fight in wars not easily understood, and possibly lose their lives? It is knowing they fight for peace, whether it is on foreign soil of our allies or making sure the war does not come to our own shores.
Soldiers use a gun as that instrument of peace and the general illustrated it beautifully with his moving words. Soldiers want peace above all else. They know the sacrifice war demands and if using a gun brings them peace, they will use it.
Non-Gun Owner
He stressed the use of weapons by trained, organized soldiers as a peacekeeping strategy. I wholly agree with him, and feel the safest when weapons are in the hands of our well trained and controlled armed forces.
Where I feel the most uneasy is when the general public, with little to no oversight in the training and use other than an application and waiting time in obtaining fire arm license.
You, having been in our armed forces, have had the training, the education in using weapons as a peacekeeping strategy- the majority of our general public do not.
I personally feel most comfortable with weapons to be in the professional hands of our armed forces in the military, not in the hands of my neighbors…
Military Family Member
With most of the conversations around firearms being so polarizing, I thoroughly enjoyed General Peter van Uhm’s TED Talk. He presented the gun as an instrument of peace and stability. That may be a hard concept for some to understand, but General van Uhm introduced it in a way that all people could understand and appreciate.
General van Uhm stated “peace and stability do not come free of charge”. As a military family, we know that all too well. We know that it takes brave, selfless individuals to “choose a gun” as their instrument for peace. They knowingly risk their lives to provide a safer world for the rest of us. Some of them give the ultimate sacrifice and others have their lives permanently changed, physically and emotionally.
While you may not love firearms, I think General van Uhm shows us the important role they play in keeping peace around the world.
