CDN Farmboy - Well, you stepped a good bit beyond a simple question or opinion with your condescending comment. I suspect you'd be testy if aomeone made a comment about Canadians benefiting from the umbrella of US protection.
Nevertheless, giving the benefit of doubt that your intent was not to be inflammatory and intolerant (that you just made a bad choice of words) I'll give you my thoughts.
First, you seems to be under the impression that this is a frivolous folly (your beloved 2nd amendment). Rather, most of us see the second amendment, on studying history, as a central tenet, and just as important as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In our view, our governmental structure and constitution would be worthless without these critical rights (if we can't speak out freely against our government or protect ourselves from a tyrannical government or make our own choices about religion and association, then there is not realy life, liberty and pursuit of happiness). It should be noted that these "rights" do have costs and can be subject to abuse and misuse, but they are "foundational" for us and without them the whole house of cards topples (over time). It should also be noted that, to play on your words, nowhere else in the civilized (or uncivilized) world do citizens have the level of individual and collective freedom and opportunity as they have in the US. Indeed, the few countries that offer freedom approaching ours can generally thank US intervention at some point or another. So, it isn't a simple matter, but a core belief... we put freedom above the cost of freedom.
Now, I will be among the first to say that I see growing challenges to our culture and form of government. To succeed, it absolutely requires personal responsibility and accountability on behalf of every citizen. As our country becomes more reliant on the government than on self, family, and neighbors (accountability and responsibility to and among each other), we are losing some of the glue that hold our system together. I pray that we haven't crossed a "tipping point" where we can't reclaim what we had, but with 30+% of citizens receiving some level of govt assistance and our current and growing nat'l debt and apparent lack of will to make tough decisions to change those facts, I'm not confident. Once gov't protection becomes more important than individual and collective freedom to a majority, then things will have to change and, I suspect, core foundational rights will be among them (if the govt takes care of us, we have no more "right" to the means to protect ourselves and each other, we have no more "right" to speak out against the govt we asked for, etc.).
That said, the changes will not likely be easy. First, there are many to whom these freedoms and ideals are still very, very important. In my opinion this is the polarization we're seeing accelerate in the US - the shift from personal freedom, achievement, and opportunity to govt assistance and protection is approaching a point where there are fewer and fewer "fence sitters", and those that are on the "old school" side of the fence feel a responsibility to their family, friends, and neighbors (and their predecessors) to protect foundational rights (even if that means taking up the arms which they can have under 2A). Second is history and tradition. Most of us that are zealous protectors of 2a (along with the other constitutional rights) have grown up around guns and had them all our lives. I can't remember a time without gun awareness, and holding one for the first time at age 5 or 6 is still a fond memory. I'll never forget getting knocked on my but the first time I fired Dad's 12g shotgun, nor the discipline I learned (and earned) about gun handling. I couldn't wait to give my son hist first gun (a 410 my granddad had given my dad), and a group of friend's and I combined resources to get a really nice gun for my god-son shortly after his birth. They live 10+ hours away, but his dad and I make sure we find time every year or so to get our boys together... often centered around hunting/fishing and just "plinking". This probably sounds extremely odd to those "in the rest of the civilized world" that aren't among the gentry or ruling classea (where gun ownership and utilization are much more comparable to our experience), but my point in sharing the above is to simply point out that for many of us this isn't about wanting guns... it's that they are just as much a part of the fabric of our lives as trucks, tractors, boats, fishing poles, whatever you consider part of your history and being.
I'll close by saying I'm not a "gun nut", just a pretty typical southerner. I don't own any military-style guns (90% of what I own are sporting shotguns) but I don't begrudge those who do. I respect their right to own and use them, for as long as they do so legally and responsibly they aren't any more dangerous than I am with my shotguns or you are with the axe you use to split firewood.
