According to Spiral Dynamics and Integral theory some societies have been stalled at egocentric and ethnocentric levels of development.
It is hoped that they will develop to the world centric and then Integral levels.
One might wonder about the level of cultural maturity in the U.S. when one of the major factors in living the good life is owning a gun.
Some visions of how to live well in America are inextricably linked to owning a gun. Donald Trump certainly took that view recently, in a CNN town hall at Saint Anselm College, in New Hampshire, before an audience of Republicans and independents. Indeed, he presented guns as necessary for survival in a dark and violent landscape. “Remember, we have seven hundred million guns—seven hundred million. Many people, if they don’t have a gun, they’re not going to be very safe,” he said. “Many of them would not be alive today.”
AmyDavidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, May 21,2023
The sentence, "Some visions of how to live well in America are inextricably linked to owning a gun." struck me as powerfully sad. What are Americans so afraid of? Each other?
The thought system that leads one to believe that their safety is achieved by owning a gun is very, very sad, even tragic.
What is the fear of the other that is so pervasive in our culture that we rely on guns for our security?