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A difference in perspective. As an aside, Oregon is lately averaging as many mass shootings yearly as this country has had since its founding.
The last Thanksgiving I had in the US was in Michigan. Around the dinner table, the discussion was about the recent school shooting that made the news. One person commented "they ought to arm teachers" and there was near universal agreement - so the teachers would be ready to kill any student who becomes dangerous. While there's a certain logic to it, I think it ignores the psychology of the remaining 99.9999% of the time (or perhaps less in the US) where you have children who are aware there is an adult in the room who is, in theory, able and prepared to kill them. Nevermind that you now have more stressed adults living in preparation of violence, given weapons around children. Maybe I'm wrong, and if we put people in the position to kill more often, it would happen less often. After all, it generally only happens as a result of mental illness - something as often as not originating environmentally.
It's true that New Zealand would be relatively defenseless if an aggressive nation decided to come and steal their sheep and wind turbines. I'm aware of the position the US holds in the world order, and it's my view I'd rather the US were there than China or Russia, even if I'm not entirely happy with some of the downstream effects of the banana republics - it's easy enough to judge in hindsight. I'm well enough read in world history to know this period of "peace" is more the exception than the norm, even if US "defense" spending just prior to COVID reached levels near to the height of spending during World War II when adjusted for inflation.
All in all, I feel rather lucky I'm no longer footing the bill. Gaming the system, as you say. I have a smaller tax bill and I'm less likely to be shot.
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