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Cultural Literacy Essay

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Cultural Literacy Essay
Guns and America Imagine America without the artifacts that reflect and influence our culture. Society would lack the entities that have made America what it is today. In recent years, one could make the argument that cultural artifacts have negatively and positively influenced society. Through mediums of survival, crime and controversy, guns have had a substantial impact on American culture. Guns have had an apparent connection to the legal system that reflects and influences American culture. As a result of recent incidents, like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, many of the typical arguments for and against gun violence are again in public view. One contributing factor largely remains in the background of this controversy and relates to America’s cultural literacy. The gun has come to symbolize nostalgia for the ideal image of frontier life in America. The history and evolvement of gun usage has altered the way Americans view society and life. Guns have tampered with American morality, justice and ethics as proven through historical events such as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and massacres and tragedies that have occurred in recent years. The Revolutionary War was an important event in history in which Americans had to take it upon themselves to prevent the British from regaining control of the United States. Our culture places a significant importance on this historical event, as it is associates guns with America’s beginnings. Educating children about the beginning of our nation emphasizes the importance of the literacy of American history. History curriculums in schools require students to learn about the details of the Revolutionary War to make the children of society well informed about our nation. In doing so, we create the cultural literacy that is the nostalgia that the gun allowed us to obtain the freedom that is inherent in American culture today. Likewise, the celebration of the Fourth of July is one of the most important ways


Cited: Cook, Alexander. "Old Guns and Whispering Ghosts: Tales and Twists of the Old West." Wild West 2007: 72-3. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. Robert Palmer, N, Y, T, N, S. "In Nashville, Country Music Stars are Singing the Blues / Nashville Sound 'Dated; ' Audiences, Record Sales Slip." Journal Record: 0. Sep 18 1985. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2013 . Cook, P. J., and J. Ludwig. Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and use. United States:, 1996. National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts Database. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Blackmon, P. H., and R. E. Gardiner. NRA (National Rifle Association) and Criminal Justice Policy - the Effectiveness of the National Rifle Association as a Public Interest Group. United States:, 1986. National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts Database. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.
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