Tom Paxton wrote this Anti-war song in 1965 during the Vietnam War era. In the video posted, Tom Paxton performed “Buy a Gun for your son” on Pete Seeger’s (“American folk singer” and “iconic figure” in the 50’s for the revival of American Folk music) PBS TV show located in NYC in 1965 called “Rainbow Quest”.

The Song is a bit sarcastic but still presents an anti-war notion. Tom Paxton establishes a powerful message about giving children war toys to play with to prepare them for war. During this time many protest the Vietnam war. Paxton conveys the message that American should encourage more constructive toys for our kids and prevent the thought of violence (war) into children minds, that we should teach our children non-violent conflict resolution and how to treat others with respect. There are data in favor of this; evidence depicting correlations of children who are raised on a diet of violence begets violence. Teach your child peace, to tolerate other while appreciating diversity, to be grateful for the value of life, the philosophy of liberty, responsibility and what it means to be free and not the evil of the tool to defend themselves or others because they will be enslaved to controllers of the government.

Also, mentioned by Tom Paxton in the video clip is that children’s in America (1965) are supplied with war toys that are manufactured with great details and it has became a huge enterprise in America. So, Prevent giving your child toys of violence will indirectly create a more anti-war country. Audiences watching “Rainbow Quest” while Tom Paxton was on air definitely had a reality check, I think the anti-war movement was realized and felt.