In my opinion, neither money nor greed (cupiditas) is the root of all evil. The root of all evil is envy. The non−coper hates the coper, and thus the non−shooter hates the shooter. I see no other explanation for the pointless and irrational activism of the gun grabbers on the political scene. They know that their machinations can have no effect upon crime. Guns have no effect upon crime, but they do make all men equal, as the saying goes. This puts the coper on top, and infuriates the non−coper.

– Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Volume Nine Vol. 9, No. 3/15/73

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Among the other signs of times we discover that coping is unfashionable. As far as I can tell, today’s young people are taught not to handle problems but rather to call for help. This is very bad race conditioning. As a boy I led a privileged life, but I nonetheless often got into jams beyond reach of assistance. I never called for help, and my father would have sneered at me if I had done so. At age seventeen while driving alone I blew a tire. I had never seen a wheel changed but I figured the matter out by myself. This is not to boast but only to point out that young men should be expected to cope.

-Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Volume Ten Vol. 10, No. 3/14/73

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Could it be that the essence of liberalism is fear? It occurs to us that those who are considered “conservative” tend to be people who can cope with circumstances, while those who cannot cope tend to be of the “liberal” persuasion.

The pious man properly fears God, but on the political scene the winner fears only the state. It may be that the loser looks to the state for protection against the winner, and only eventually discovers that he has identified the wrong enemy.