In this week's MetroPulse, Jesse Fox Mayshark does an excellent job of answering the question, "Why do East Tennesseans love their guns?" Among many insights, Mayshark hits paydirt when he invokes Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, Sen. James Webb's 2004 book that was featured in a political context a couple of years ago in a Grammar Tip of the Day.
In Mayshark's story, he quotes University of Tennessee law professor (and blogger) Glenn Reynolds as he eloquently describes the Scots-Irish culture of Appalachia as follows:
“Their model is that of the independent frontiersman who takes care of himself and his family with no interference from the state.
"They are conservative in the sense that they cling to America’s unique pre-modern tradition—a non-feudal society with a sort of medieval liberty at large for everyman.
"To these people, ‘sociological’ is an epithet. Life is tough and competitive. Manhood means responsibility and caring for your own.”
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