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Peter van Uhm: Why I Chose a Gun

Peter van Uhm is a four-star general in the Royal Netherlands Army and the current Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff (CDS). At TEDxAmsterdam he explained how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed, and why we need armies if we want peace.

As the General says in his TED talk, he’s not a “gun guy”. He claims to not even really like guns. While I cannot relate to that at all (shocking I know), there is much wisdom in his words, and well worth the time to watch, particularly for those who think all guns are evil.

[blockquote cite=”General Peter van Uhm”]Sometimes only the gun can stand between good and evil. And that is why I took up the gun. Not to shoot, not to kill, not to destroy. But to stop those who would do evil. To protect the vulnerable. To defend democratic values.[/blockquote]

About TED

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

Peter van Uhm’s TED Talk

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