Hope to dodge a bullet on this one... would the "smartest and best informed" use the adjective PROVEN as a verb? Is a gun fetish the prerequisite for inclusion in this manly brotherhood of bravado? Which is the greater force for good, the correct use of language or guns? Is there an inverse relationship between education and reliance upon guns to solve problems? Is good government possible? Is the ability to reason losing relevancy?
We've (We have) proven IS the correct usage in this case.. as in we have proven to be.
I do not have a gun fetish. I live in an age where I wish violence did not exist, but I have friends who have been shot, and who have had to shoot people.. while minding their own business in small town America. A good friend of mine recently stopped a mugging and beatdown by multiple assailants, in an alley, during a busy festival, by drawing his weapon. Another friend had 2 punks try to rob him as he was making a late night bank drop for the pizza shop he managed... they ran when he drew his weapon.
Within the last few weeks in Columbus, multiple people have been robbed, raped, and assaulted... the chances of this happening to properly trained and armed people are much lower.
Language is great... but the crackheads in this town don't understand language... as for education, I graduated with a degree in Business with a Minor in accounting, some of the smartest people I know believe in being armed.
Obviously you've never been in a situation where a weapon was pulled on you. I have. Some things you can't talk your way out of... you better have a bigger stick, or bend over.
I hate violence, but I'm not naive enough to think that I can always talk my way out of it.
Thanks for proving the point of the joke tho......
Dale