Americans love guns. There are an estimated 270
million firearms in American private ownership, nearly as many firearms as
human beings. One day quite soon the
guns will outnumber the people. That scares me, but I am English. Now that I
live in America I am starting to understand why I should be scared. Or, as it
happens, not.
A is for ArmaLite, B is for Browning, C is for Colt, D
is for Derringer, E is for Enfield, F is for Firearms and G is for Gun. Growing
up in England, that’s how I learned my ABC’s. This is because I am an American
through my Father, and guns are in my DNA.
The BBC is a trusted brand. It is known the
world over in ways that Netflix isn’t, and never could be. It has a vast, seemingly infinite archive. Soaps.
Dramas. Plays. Thrillers. Comedy shows. Documentary series. All of it high
quality stuff rusting in old cans of film, gathering dust in crates and boxes
of videotape.