Beyond thunderdome...

Gun purchases have also been climbing because of the worsening economy, which fuels fears of crime and civil disorder, industry sources and specialists said.

Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? As the economy goes down the crapper, citizens are loading up on guns.

For what? To protect them from a new apocalypse? Does this mean that we can expect the United States to turn into a Mad Max movie where it's every person for themselves? (Although I have to admit, the leather look is quite tasty.)

This increase in purchases are happening, of course, in the great plains areas of the country. They cite the need for the guns as insurance against an increase in crime or greater restrictions on gun sales in the future.

Yeah, the future has me worried. Worried that fear of the unknown will do more to separate us from our neighbors, instead of bring us together for a common good. I wonder if we as a human race will be able to change the way we treat the environment before the planet decides it has enough of us. I don't want to add another worry that the US will return to the lawlessness of the Wild West.