Truly loving his job

The place is called Don's Guns in Indianapolis, and it isn't your run of the mill armory. Claiming to be the largest display of guns in Indiana, Don Davis, the shop's owner, strives for the ideal in a society bogged down by consumerism. Don's famous statement: "I don't want to make any money, I just love to sell guns." Free of the shackles of the almighty dollar, he only seeks to provide his services to the community. So when you buy a gun from Don, you don't just buy a gun, you enliven an old man's heart.\nMy friends and I laugh when we see the television spot that features Don's rosy face, broad smile and earl-grey mullet. We spout ironic and caustic university rhetoric about how uncivilized our state is to allow such a mad man on the airwaves. Yet this is a man living the cavalier lifestyle we can only sing about, doing what few of us are capable of: he loves his job.\nThe rest of us, though we want to "be true to ourselves" and never sell-out to the man, woman or corporate machine, are going through the motions at our esteemed university so that we can have something to show for it -- awards. \nJuliet Schor, in her book "The Overworked American," points toward this American hypocrisy when she writes, "The irony in all the consuming Americans do is that, when asked, they reject materialist values." \nWhen we consume or educate, many of our actions are designed at very practical aims while we appease our souls by merely talking about "higher" institutions of learning. \nAnd isn't this so true? Wouldn't we all just rather love to sell guns?\nMaybe, or maybe not.\nIt seems that simply talking about ideals is all we really need to do. It's an American pastime. We pride ourselves on our "open mindedness," march for gay rights, yet sit complacent as our laws prevent that community from becoming legitimate members of society. We go to war and shout for peace. We look for equality within the races yet constantly praise those intrepid individuals who promote the "awareness" of our differences. \nTrey Parker and Matt Stone of "South Park" fame seem to be the only two citizens in the country who have a true understanding of the great American double standard. In the latest episode parodying America's war environment, a flash-back reveals the Founding Fathers engaging in this conversation as they draft our Constitution.\n"I believe that if we are to form a new country, we cannot be a country that appears war-hungry and violent to the rest of the world. However, we also cannot be a country that appears weak and unwilling to fight to the rest of the world. So, what if we form a country that appears to want both? … Think of it: an entire nation founded on saying one thing and doing another."\nThus our freedoms are born. No one is right because everyone is allowed to do as they please, so we live in the pragmatic world yet aspire for the ideal. We award the "façade" of open-mindedness, but only to those who achieve it by closing out the rest of the world with signs, songs and insults. We act with brass and verve in order to achieve acceptance and dialogue.\nA professor of mine told me yesterday, "Open-mindedness is often written about, but never practiced. In order to be happy, you just have to accept that."\nAnd I guess he's right. Is there anyone out there who wants to reconcile the two? I applaud your efforts and wish you the best, but I'm fine with my hypocrisy. I want world peace, and I don't want to make any money, but I too would just love to sell guns.