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The United States of Arms

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The United States Of Arms

Jonathan Freedland is the contemporary, successful and well known author and journalist who wrote the article “The United States of Arms” which was published in the American weekly newsmagazine of newsweek on August 23, 1999. The article is the British author’s immediate response to the Columbine High School massacre which occurred the same year a few months earlier. Jonathan Freedland (JF) has in many years engaged in US politics, society and ideals and has thus written a book in which he urges his fellow Britons to follow the founding ideal of The United States. He is hence a strong advocate of most American values and ideas except for the most prominent subject in this article – private gun ownership and the second amendment. Those are subjects that many emphasizes as bad things about the US, along with objections about the country’s tendency to riven by race and that politicians are in hand of corporations. For a person like JF, who normally do feel affection for USA, does it seem a bit unusual to write such con American article as this may appear. But I believe that the author’s purpose of writing this article is more a one part decent helping hand and a one part sternly wagging his finger at the USA. A helping hand in form of advice; as JF mentions Britain’s low homicide rates due to all guns, with all but the most minor exceptions, are banned in the UK. Along with the British role model example, he accentuates the fact that The United States of America had 12,397 recorded homicides by firearms in year 1997 – a total 194 times bigger number than in Britain. He thus recommends the US to follow Britain’s example and do something to minimize gun legality and consequently the number of homicides. He also raises the question of why such a potent superpower that dominates in almost every sphere of human activity – economic as well as

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