Colorado public mass murder redux: another homegrown
terrorist episode in the U.S. has so-called experts scrambling for
a solution to prevent further episodes. But like everything else in
American life, no one really wants to get down to the basic
causative issues:
(1) The Second Amendment, as currently interpreted, apparently
allows any deranged, disaffected, disappointed person to obtain a
firearm, even though our Founders, men far smarter than the rest
of us, did NOT INTEND for everyone to walk around with weapons
24/7, nor to be permitted to own high-powered, military-gauge
guns. A clarifying amendment limiting the conditions of firearm
ownership should be a congressional priority, but won't be. The
NRA donates millions to legislators, who vote their own interests,
largely: great income and benefits, huge schmooze opportunities
with other "swells", etc.
(2) Too many own guns because they have no real self-esteem or
understanding of what personal power might mean. For those
lacking introspection, a gun (or even a few more) solves these
thorny image issues.
(3) The U.S., slipping in many major quality of life indices, still
manufactures more high-power, sexy firepower armaments
than any other nation. This is nothing to be proud of, other than
for purposes of self-defense. We sell these death-dealing arms
to anybody, no matter what hair-brained political or religious
philosophy they espouse--at home and around the world.
(4) The controversy and amount of work necessitated by actually
attempting to reduce the gun violence at home via a constitutional
amendment powerfully militates against a solution.
Meanwhile, the psychosocial, political, and police "experts"
continue to wail, wring their hands, scold and implore, ignore
first causes as they always have and will.
These horrifying episodes will, until the Second Amendment
is clarified, continue. Why be shocked, America? Dysfunction
happens here too often for true shock to be tenable.
I'm sad and outraged, yes, shocked or surprised, no.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well-stated, Amber, from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteI fully concur with your commentary regarding the Second Amendment. Incidentally, wasn't this provision drawn up in the context of a well-regulated militia?
What's really disturbing is that there don't always seem to be indicators that someone is in any way psychologically unstable. James Holmes, this morning's apparent serial killer in Colorado, didn't have any previous contact with authorities at any level.
On the other hand, Jared Loughner, the man responsible for the early 2011 carnage in Tucson that killed six and disabled Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords, had a history of instability. Both of these men came from very similar upper-middle-class backgrounds and seemingly stable families.
The point I'm making is, that there really doesn't seem to be any way of knowing who's likely to go off the deep end. All the more reason why it's insanity to insist that any attempt to regulate firearm distribution and ownership restricts anyone's freedom.
Thanks Dan. Since no one can change the psychological makeup of anyone else, it would be wisdom to eliminate as many automatic weapons as possible. But I don't expect to see such a future any time soon.
ReplyDeleteP.S.: All the press repetitions of this Colorado shooter's enviable top academic record, his sports involvement, ad nauseam,
ReplyDeleteshows shallow insight into the vast corridors
of the human mind, which has many compartments. One can be intellectually gifted yet have grave emotional maladjustments. Short of a tumor like murderous Texan Charles Whitman's, I'm betting he experienced some deep disappointment recently, which he was singularly unprepared to properly process.