Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Anderson
When the newer guns fall into a state of disrepair and cease to function the Parkers, Fox, Winchester 21's and such will still be going strong. I hope there are still places that they can be used and game to be used on.
While a Benneli might work ok and be affordable just as a synthetic stocked rifle that you can buy as a complete package for $400 will, neither has any soul, there is no allure of times past, no mystery, no pride in craftsmanship.
At the end of the day what really matters is young people getting involved with the shooting sports and if they do it with a Benneli or a Remington or an AR15  then it's better than having them sit around the house playing video games. |
I have thought about this for some time and my observation is that only a very few of the younger group will have these feeling (which I share with you Rich).
Here is why I say this:
Our shared feelings of 'nostalgia' are based on our knowledge of history AND the world that these guns were born into. The younger Americans, for the most part, don't have any nostalgia because they don't connect with the past, as we do.
When we were young, we learned history in school, our parents world talk about 'the old days' and how the family handled hard times as the family sat around the dinner table and we listened. We studied the past by watching 'news reels', collecting baseball cards, gathering up old glass insulators or bottles, searching antique shops and using old 'stuff' rather than throwing it away. We collected coins and stamps and when we did, I'm sure we would wonder who might have used it; did Lincoln hold it or was it at the Little Big Horn? We were made aware of the past and we carry that with us today.
Now, look at the current generation: They don't learn history in school. Their parents (us) are too busy to sit around on the porch or at the dinner table (family dinner at the same table?) to talk about .... They don't collect anything to get a feeling of history. They are consumed with 'now' and rarely consider the past. Their interests are in computers, the internet, cell phones, graphical games; all of which change so fast that they work to keep up with the future, not remember the past.
I have little hope that those under the age of 35 will ever come to think of these guns in the same way we do. They will never comprehend the talent it took to create them without a knowledge of detailed history.
The lack of history knowledge is the root of many areas of my concern about what life will be like for my grandchildren.
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