Are we wired for weaponry?
“Men will be men” as they say and history has shown us on a repeated basis that this is going to involve fighting, conflict and war.
Right from the dawn of time itself, man (or rather men) have discovered and developed tools. They set about putting them to good use and in so doing they inadvertently invented productivity. It, unfortunately, but naturally followed that these tools evolved from simply assisting with the hunt for food into improvised contraptions to aid hunting for enemies. Over time these simple hand to hand combat utilities developed into more powerful, more effective and more destructive devices capable of being put to devastating use from a distance.
What is it about how we arrived at today, that we hold so dear?
Civil Wars, Revolutionary Wars and of course International Wars are now an unfortunate part of our past and our present. But, whereas modern munition has become a “state-of-the-art” thing followed only by the elite, bona fide members of the military and the up-to-the-minute Armchair Xbox Warriors (of course), it’s the old stuff, the historical weaponry, and specifically Cannons, that continue to hold the undying attention of most of us. They’ve been around for some time now. From the castles of the middle ages to the sea battles of a few hundred years ago. From the Wars of the Roses to the War of Independence. It’s always been ‘all about the cannons’.
Call it nostalgia, patriotism, remembrance or a sense of purpose. Or, we could call it an instinctive empathy with the simplistic principles of these incredible things and how they work. They only amount to powder, wadding and projectile. Oh, and something (the all important big thing) with wheels on, to fire it out of. It’s all so easy. They make just as much noise and mayhem as any modern multi-million dollar, computerised anti-tank blaster thingamajig but they’re easily understood and utilised, and they’re also readily accessible to the masses. Just don’t forget to put your ear muffs on.
And so, “Boys will be boys!” We now have Cannon collectors, clubs, aficionados and traders. There are also Civil War and Revolutionary War re-enactors by the plenty. Some do it for the history and the remembrance, “Lest we forget”. Some do it for the Nostalgia and the Camaraderie. Some people like the whole theatre and dressing up thing of re-enactments. One thing is for sure, though, we can be certain they all love their War Cannons. Not so much for the War. It’s just for the Cannons.