In the past 2 years of observing how the world would completely change due to an international pandemic, I have seen how life is so fragile and must be protected by the strong and the wise. A great deal of crime has unfortunately risen in many world regions, though perhaps more notably in urban areas of the United States such as New York City, Minneapolis and Chicago, and it is because of this, I believe American citizens should start taking theirs and their family’s safety more seriously and look into owning a weapon as a last resort.
Make no mistake, a weapon is a useful commodity against danger, but only a fool would think to obtain ownership of a firearm without any training or previous handling knowledge. If one desires to own a weapon legally (and has the mental and moral capacity to use it and maintain its usefulness), one must teach themselves the proper shooting and fighting techniques at their local gun or archery range. There, not only should shooting be done but like-minded friends should be made and questions should be asked towards experienced firearm owners about how to properly maintain a firearm. In fact, as a necessary precaution to prevent any further gun accidents, there should be legally certified firearm training courses in several parts of each county per state and should present a legally signed certificate at the end in order to show the firearm merchant.
However, for several financial and travel restrictions among others, there has been a rise in men and women learning to operate firearms from the convenience of their homes with virtual shooting ranges and dry fire training simulators and it seems to be a good alternative in many cases, especially as the United States is still handling the coronavirus pandemic situation at this time. Though the problem with solely learning a hands-on skill completely online is that it doesn’t truly prepare someone for real life as being in a lab. It’s much like the difference between playing Grand Theft Auto for several hours and driving a car in real life: the video game may be a good resource to prepare someone for driving, but unless the player of the game gets behind the wheel of an average car, the game will have lost its purpose. I will say though that if one is confined to having to practice virtually at home, programs like those created by SIRT are very good because they create simulations that are fairly real and applicable to the average American’s life and the programs help to build up stamina in order to help people be more alert and develop their skills in the art of innovation in order to better adapt to situations and their surroundings.
In my personal opinion, for people who aren’t as fortunate as I am to live in an area with easy access to a gun or archery range, they should balance their virtual experiences with more real-life stages. To me, the best thing to do would be to play the simulations for 2 hours a day and then the next day, use an obstacle course one can create on their own or borrow one built by a friend and practice there for 2 hours to help balance out the real experience with the virtual. Then, once the individual knows they are well versed with the weapon, then they can go towards serious steps of obtaining their own weapons and should use them for good. As a wise man once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”