There's little difference between pretending you're a Jedi knight, a Spartan hoplite, GI Joe or a fedayeen freedom fighter. The real skills and courage required to be a genuine warrior are scarce in the population, but little boys still think of themselves that way. Males are expendable, so they tend to think of themselves as invincible.

Without physical conditioning, training and the right mindset, no weapon can make you a brave and effective soldier. Any weapon can be used to maim and kill, but with guns you can kill lots of civilians in a hurry. Just point and pull the trigger. Its the attribute of the gods, to destroy at a distance. And they are the weapons of cowards.

We have an elaborate folklore, a social pathology, a lucrative industry and a political ideology built on this perversion.