The (Heart is a Lonely) Hunter

I'm writing about hunting here, but it seemed a good excuse to plug Carson McCullers' novel - which, besides being a great work, has one of the best titles for a literary work ever. It (the title) somehow captures the feel of a pop-song and very dark poetry all at once.

It's hunting season in the country. PA hunters are serious about their guns, and serious about their game. It's survival of the fittest, in absolute terms. I'm scrambling to make sure my pup is protected: C. the Postmistress tells me that the hunters in our area are notorious for shooting dogs. They will shoot whatever moves in their line of sight, and they won't feel bad about it. Apparently, if your dog does not have the wilderness savvy to protect himself, he doesn't deserve to live. Many have been shot, and they pretty much just get left for dead. There is also a legendary story about an old woman who got shot while hanging her clothes outside. She was wearing white gloves, and the hunter mistook her hands for a deer's tail.

Eek.

So the pup will be wearing a reflective orange safety vest from now on.

The law prohibits hunting on Sundays (because of God, I guess). And the immediate acreage around my house is "Posted," meaning it's private property where hunting is prohibited. Still, you hear the gunshots as if they are right there. I think one of the neighbors set up a shooting range for target practice.

I don't know what to say. Is hunting cruel? Barbaric? Or is it - as one of the Republican candidates said in the YouTube debates last night (was it Ron Paul?), boasting about getting his first hunting license at age 9 - "an important American family tradition." The right to bear arms. Interesting that John McCain, the candidate with the most direct experience with horrific violence, is the only one who does not own a gun (but don't get me started about what an asinine question that was).

It seems to me a classic example of "A Divided America," i.e. the challenges of a society which is both democratic and highly-diverse. For some, guns may well represent a cherished family tradition; for others, it's nothing but death and destruction. Not surprisingly, I'd come down on the side of gun control laws; if the tradition is really that cherished, then having to get a license or take an exam or go through some other qualification process is a small inconvenience to incur - especially when the larger benefit is enjoying a truly free, democratic, and safe society. For gun-lovers to make a claim on full license to do whatever and whenever with their guns is just plain anachronistic - what they want is secession, what they want is not to have to participate in a complex, pluralistic society. Do libertarians really not see the chaos that would ensue if government did disappear?

At any rate, gun control is not likely to go over any time soon in this neck o' the woods. It reminds me that I am a visitor here - for now, anyway - definitely not a true resident. (I in fact still vote in NY.) The same goes for the Bronx, really. Not quite at home in either place. A woman with no country...

The heart is a lonely hunter. Yup.