c;isionally got into my father’s armyrntrunk and examined the pistol he hadrnbrought home from World War II. As arnmedical offieer, he was not issued arnweapon but commandeered one from arnwounded German. He was glad to hacrnit during the war, and years later thernthreat of it drove a burglar from ourrnhome. He had been in a world war andrnwas prepared, as I saw it, to pick up hisrnweapon again if necessary. Of all hisrnpossessions, it is the one I value most.rnIn recent years, the concern with selfdefensernhas created a market for military-rnstyle semiautomatics, or assaultrnweapons. Military-style semiautomaticsrnhave been available on the surplus marketrnsince the end of World War II, butrnthe market for them did not explode untilrnthe I970’s with the advent of survivalism.rnSurvialism is an extreme visionrnof self-defense, but if you think thisrnattitude is rare, confined to the likes ofrnDavid Koresh, then you travel in differentrncircles than I do. Manv who don’trnconsider themselves survivalists witnessrnthe impotence of authorities in the facernof crime and rioting and find that theyrntoo require powerful reassurance. Asrnweaponry, these guns range from the excellentrnto the preposterous, but all conveyrna deadly seriousness. Their blackrnplastic stocks, pistol-grips, ventilated barrelrnsleeves, bayonet lugs, and flash hidersrnflaunt their status as killing machines.rnThese accoutrements are more cosmeticrnthan functional, but they provide therndesired look of menace, like war paint.rnAnd it is their brazen appearance thatrnmakes them an easy target for antigunrnforces, who assert, “They’re not for huntingrnor target-shooting; they’re designedrnonly to kill!” Few on my side have therntemerity to respond that, yes, indeed,rnthat is their legitimate function.rnAlong with the handgun, the assaultrnweapon draws the sharpest line betweenrnthe differing views of gun ownership andrnraises the most basic questions. Is forcerna constant in our world? Can we evadernit, deny it, rise above it? Are we helplessrnin the face of it, our safety best entrustedrnto others, or to fate? Or do we acceptrnthe reality of force, master it, and resolvernto use it if need be?rnSome of us recoil from the gun, thinking,rn”With this, how easily life can berntaken.” Others pick it up and say, “Withrnthis, my life will not be taken easily.”rnPaul Kirchner writes from Hamden,rnConnecticut.rnCanadian Populismrnby Donald I. WarrenrnAlive and Wellrna October Revolution” is probablyrnan apt description of Canada’srn1993 parliairrentary elections, as thernmonth marked the enthronement of arnleft-oriented political establishment andrnthe ejection of the rulirrg Conservatives.rnThe Liberal Party’s sweep to an absoluternmajority meant the relegation of thernTory Progressive Conservative Party tornvirtual extinction (it now holds only twornparliamentary seats). Also notcworthrnwas the emergence of the separatist BlocrnQuebecois, although its overall vote totalrnwas only 12 percent. While given scantrnattention in the American media, thernremarkable second-place finish of thernReform Part}-, with an impressive 19 percentrnslice of the electorate, calls for arncloser look at what is brewing in our continentalrnbackyard.rnFounded a mere five years ago, thernReform Party (in this—its second—nationalrnelection) has grown from one torn52 seats, coming within a hair’s breadthrnof being named the formal opposition, arnposition now occupied by the BlocrnQuebecois with its 53 scats. The windsrnof middle-class anger that swept fromrnCanada’s western provinces embody arnrejection of establishment political elitesrnon both the right and the left. Specifically,rnthe Reform Party is heir to a lostrnsense of Canadian radical conservativism,rnmore accurately described as anrnanti-big govenrment populism seekingrnto restore a cultural identity to Canada’srnmiddle class. Based in the oil-richrnprovince of Alberta, its tax-reductionism,rnanti-multiculturalism, and antiwelfarernstatism echo the “new polities”rnnow found on both sides of the Atlantic,rnand its success in last vear’s electionrncame as no surprise to those familiarrnwith Canada’s declining economicrnhealth. A 1991 report on public discontentrnhad spoken of a “fury in the land.”rnAnchored in Calgary, the ReformrnParty is rooted in the Depression-era SocialrnCredit movement headed by arnmedia-savvy monetary reformer namedrnWilliam Aberhart. This talented clergymanrnhad founded a Bible school prior tornbecoming the charismatic exponent ofrnthe ideas of Major C.H. Douglas, thernBritish militarv officer-turned-socialrnthinker. In a startling victory, Aberhartrnled the newly created party to power inrn1935. After five years of governing. SocialrnCredit lost its popular support butrnpersisted as a doctrine of populist agitationrnfrom British Columbia to Quebec.rnSix decades later, the seemingh quiescentrnghost of western Canadian populismrnhas been resurrected in a party ledrnby Preston Manning, son of one of thernoriginal organizers of Social Credit.rnI lardly a figure of captivating charm, thernman with the visage of a mild-manneredrn”Clark Kent” has a fierce reputation asrnthe “Superman” of the forgotten Canadianrnmiddle class. As one biographerrnmattcr-of-factly obsercs, “It is unusualrnin Canada for a political figure or a politicalrnparty to arrive quickly and decisivelyrnon the national stage”; in fact,rnPreston Manning quietly trained for tworndecades before following in his father’srnfootsteps. (Achieving much but necrrngaining any national prominence, ErnestrnManning had staked out a career asrnpremier of Alberta for 25 years and wasrnrevered bv many as a virtual saint.)rnWhat drew the younger Manning fromrnthe political wilderness to assume aggressi’rnely his father’s commitment tornthe major political realignment of Canadarnwas the Movement for National PoliticalrnChange that began in 1978. Centralrnto this enterprise was the idea thatrnCanada’s major parties were headed towardrnthe destruction of the nation andrnits key economic and social values.rnBy the early 19S0’s, a discerniblernprairie wildfire of populist anger beganrnsweeping the land. In its wake lay an initiallyrnfragile coalition of rural and urbanrnsplinter groups organized under thernrather prosaic title of the Alberta PoliticalrnAlliance. With Preston Manning’srnskillful nurturancc, this entity formed, inrn1987, the nucleus of a second wave ofrnCanadian political populism known asrnthe Reform Association of Canada.rnWhile other Reform Association membersrnrestricted themselves to thinking inrnterms of provincial power. Manning setrnhis sights on Ottawa and national politicsrnfrom the organization’s inception.rnIn a speech delivered during the party’srnfirst national electoral campaign inrn1988, Manning declared the historicrnmission of the Reform Party to be the replacementrnof the Conservative Party,rnwhich he described as hampered by itsrn”congenital inabilit)’ to govern.” Withrnits free-trade and low-tax platform, thernFEBRUARY 1994/47rnrnrn