Time to Change

2018-02-19 - Time to Change

So, I’ve read and thought lots about the events of last week, and it’s time to do some writing and posting.

First, some provocative questions.

Will we come to know the deaths of 17 students last week in a mass school shooting as “The Valentines Day Massacre?”

Will historians look back on this period of American history as “The American Holocaust?”

Will we call the movement to regulate firearms as “The Children’s Crusade?”

How many of us will stand with April 20, 2018, as a National Day of Action to End Gun Violence?

In America, we don’t do nuance well.  We like to find a cause, an enemy, and lay the blame squarely at that person’s or that reason’s feet.  It’s simple, it’s direct; and it makes causes easy and thinking easier.

This is not a mental health issue, though that is part of it.  This is not a guns alone issue, though that is part of it. This is not a school security issue, though that is part of it.  The person looking for a simple answer will always be frustrated.

But, until we remove access to assault weapons, we will never solve the issue.   None of the people who framed our Constitution knew about assault weapons, and their original intention was to maintain a well armed population - it was never to create an Armageddon based on overly armed persons with a far too easy access.  We have created license for an over weaponized world.

And if we treated gun ownership as a responsible activity - like car ownership - then we would create licensing, training, and operational definitions coupled with liability.  

How many people have died, how many families ruined forever - forever - because too many are afraid to stand up to politicians and political lobbies who create bad public policy?  Be not afraid.

Why do the rights of the individual exceed the rights of the community?

Enough is enough. 

Oh, yes - One last question.

As we celebrate Presidents' Day, would George Washington be proud of what we have become?