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?