The fact that people die because of an AK-47 is not because of the designer, but because of politics.
Interpretation
The responsibility for violence lies in the choices of humanity, not merely in the tools they create.
This quote emphasizes that the tragic consequences of using weapons, such as the AK-47, are not solely the fault of their creators but rather stem from the political decisions and human choices that lead to violence. It highlights the complex relationship between technology, responsibility, and societal issues, suggesting that we must address the underlying political conflicts rather than just blaming the instruments of conflict.
In practice
During a debate on gun control, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for addressing the societal issues that lead to violence.
When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed.' So this has been my lifetime motto β I have been creating weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland, to be simple and reliable.
My spiritual pain is unbearable. I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?
It is the Germans who are responsible for the fact that I became a fabricator of arms. If not for them, I would have constructed agricultural machines. (...) If someone asks me how I can sleep at night knowing that my arms have killed millions of people, I respond that I have no problem sleeping, my conscience is clean. I constructed arms to defend my country.
People often ask me how I feel about my invention being used to kill people every day and the AK being a common weapon of ethnic conflicts. I want to make it clear that I created my assault rifle to protect my country. You can blame politicians for its spreading out of control on a global scale.
Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.
Mine alone is the country of my soul.
For you in the West to hear the phrase 'All men are created equal' is to draw a yawn. For us, it's a miracle. We're starting out at rock bottom, man. But South Africa does have soul.
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
To him, who still would gaze upon the glory of the summer sun, there comes, when that sun will from him part, a sullen hopelessness of heart.
The people are hungry: It is because those in authority eat up too much in taxes.
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