Stan Hunt’s cartoon (Feb. 13) was a little hard on Calvary school’s air rifle shooting range. In the old days, most boys learned to shoot on a .22 rifle, and most of us shot our Red Ryder BB rifles in the yard. When we got to the Army, all of us born on the side of a hill in Tennessee earned our Marksmanship Badges.

Surrounded by oceans, we don’t fear foreign armies marching up our streets. But both the nature of war and the nature of society have changed, and we can no longer assume that our neighborhood streets will never see terrorist, criminal, or gang activity. When they do, it is too late to think about basic firearm training. And the homeland security people have told us that we may be “on our own” for 24 to 72 hours in a terrorist attack.

The case for teaching boys to defend their country, home, and family is self-evident, but the present trend is to give them Ritalin and relieve them of any responsibility to care for family. All manner of social tragedy revolves around the misplaced male search for the meaning of “manhood,” and many become predators and wife beaters.

Thus, the need for females to learn basic self-protection and self-preservation is greater now than ever. Too many are single parents, and sole protectors of the family.

So if Calvary wants to give some basic instruction in shooting, power to them. This country needs a few good men and women.

Bob Mason