The Beauty of The M16 Rifle

Most Americans enjoy their freedom. That is why we need to respect the items that have made this freedom necessary. I personally recognize firearms as a symbol of America’s freedom. Specifically, I see the Colt M16A1 rifle as a symbol of our freedom. This rifle is better known as the M16. Historically speaking, the rifle was developed in the 1950’s and is still in use today by the United States military, along with many other nations who still employ this weapon. I think of the M16 not as a gun or object, but as a symbol. Without this fine piece of art, we, as a nation, probably wouldn’t have the freedoms we have today. I know for sure, that if the M16 wasn’t invented, many foreign countries would still be oppressed by harsh dictators.

Lets start by understanding the details of the M16 rifle’s name. The “M” in M16 stands for “Model.” The “16” stands for the number of rifle design it is. So, the manufacturer, and inventor, Colt Manufacturing Company, made fifteen other models of the same rifle until they got it right. That goes to show the effort put into this one rifle. Not to mention the amount of money spent on developing the M16. People always say that a name says it all. Well, in this case, the M16 rifle’s name does say it all- no detail was overlooked in the developing of this rifle.

The visual beauty of the M16 lies in its revolutionary design. At the time of its invention, no other rifle, or weapon for that fact, came even close to the way the M16 looked. The rifle was all flat black in color. It had a plastic composite butt stock that was triangular shaped. The fore arm was also made of the same lightweight plastic composite. This material gave the rifle a “space age” image. I couldn’t imagine being issued this rifle for the very first time. The soldiers who received these guns probably thought they were going to go out on “Space Patrol.” They probably had an initial feeling of power with the rifle in their hands.

On top of the rifle is an intricate handle that allows the user to carry the rifle more comfortably then the traditional way of just slinging your gun over your shoulder. This handle also allowed various kinds of sights and scopes to be mounted to it, making the M16 very versatile. That alone speaks of the beauty of this rifle. It was completely new. No one had ever seen a gun that could do as much as the M16.

Today when most people look at the M16, or a picture of the M16, they just think, “Ok, so it’s the M16. Big deal. Just another gun.” In reality, the M16 is so much more than just a gun. What they don’t realize is the stories that the M16 can tell. It first saw foreign action during the Vietnam War. This was a VERY controversial conflict, (despite its name, Vietnam was never declared a war). America was torn between those who supported the conflict, and those who were against it. The M16 represents this struggle that America went through, and more importantly, how we overcame it.

Continuing with the visual complexion of the M16, the barrel has a flash suppressor at the end of it. Even though this wasn’t added to the rifle until the late 60’s, it is one of the most recognizable features of the M16. A bullet is fired from a gun by using a propellant. This explosive material gives off a “flash” at the end of the gun barrel every time a bullet is fired. What the flash suppressor does is break up the flash of explosive material before it gets to the end of the barrel. The benefit of this invention is observed at firefights that occur during the night. This was revolutionary at the time, and this fact a lone makes the M16 very special. This is mainly because no one we faced in battle had flash suppressors. U.S. soldiers could identify enemy positions by locating the flash of their gun barrels. U.S. soldiers then could return fire without being spotted. This alone saved thousand of lives.

This brings us to a very good point. Some people probably are saying, “Well yes, the M16 has given us many of our freedoms, or at least defended them, but what about the lives it has taken.” This is true, the M16 is responsible for thousand, if not millions of deaths. But, imagine the suffering that would have been faced if these thousands had not been killed. There are those few cases where because of the M16, innocent bystanders were killed. When you think about this, you need to think about how many other lives were saved because of the M16. If the M16 hadn’t been invented, many foreign countries would still be in horrific situations.

That’s mainly where I see the beauty in the M16 rifle. Regrettably, a lot of people have given their lives to the end of the M16’s barrel. On the other side, countless lives were aided and saved because of the end of the M16’s barrel. Humans as a whole race have to give up sacrifices in order to save our race. Some of this is sacrifice of others. To stop those humans who view them selves above everyone, the M16 has dealt the “lead” to end these reigns.

Everyone needs to stop and appreciate the beauty of the M16 rifle. Without it, we may not even be here today. As Americans, we also need to slow down and respect what this gallant rifle has done for all of us. Though it is a simple object, and taken for granted far more times than it is appreciated, I truly find the Colt M16A1 rifle to be a true thing of beauty. It is not so much the visual aspects of the rifle, even though it was a revolutionary new design, but rather the aesthetic features of the weapon.

As the great Philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” (519) What this is saying, is those who are truly wise can appreciate the simplistic values something as simple as the M16 rifle has. They can analyze and take the image and background of the rifle into great depth. For the most part, all Americans know and understand their freedoms. Well, now if we could only come to know and respect the symbols of these freedoms that made it possible for us to enjoy them.