Risk is our currency and we get to choose where we spend it.
Will Petty, quoted by John Johnston on Ballistic Radio #211 (4 June 2017)
I haven’t been posting much this year because I am making a concerted effort to (finally) write my book on American gun culture. Even as this blog suffers, I am making good progress on the book, with 6 chapters completely drafted.
This week I am turning my attention to Chapter 7, “Pascal’s Wager and Firearms.” I have been thinking about the issue of risk, risk management, and risk mitigation in connection with guns for years now. I originally posted about Pascal’s Wager over 6 years ago now. What can I say? I am a slow writer.
I re-discovered this quote from Will Petty via John Johnston amid the pages of notes and drafts in my file folder for this chapter. It really has me thinking this morning.
Gun Culture 2.0 
I think the cost of owning a gun should include the possibility of harm to the kids in the family if they have access to them. Is that included in the wager as it is written?
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Risk is all about possibilities, and how we can reduce or increase it. It’s a calculation that everyone has to make . Hence the spending analogy (as I take the quote).
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Yes, yes it is part of the wager.
Three generations of my family has owned firearms and not one child or family member has been harmed.
Freedom is dangerous. It’s not for lilly livered surfs.
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