Our Mass Shooting Crisis
We can peer deeply into the flaws of a culture by examining what malignant trends are proliferating—what is becoming the unfortunate new normal. Some evils are inevitable, that is true. Some things we cannot control. But we are not always so helpless—nor innocent—in combating the array of dark forces ever trying to gain an upper hand. We are not perpetually at the mercy of all-or-nothing, black-and-white mentalities and their overly simplistic views that fail to meet the complexities of modern life. We cannot continue to excuse the inaction and apathy and stonewalling that is insidiously, passively desecrating our worth.
Cultures must look within and decide who they want to be, what values they wish to embody. If things begin to deteriorate for us, we must assess and then confront the issue headlong. If things have effectively deteriorated, and we now find ourselves in a bad way—then we must work that much harder and take even greater pains to alleviate the now-chronic condition. We must admit the sickness that has taken root within our culture, shame and blame be damned. On today’s subject, that culture is our own. That culture is us, We the People.
Some would say guns are as American as apple pie. Of course, guns preceded us, but we’ve enthusiastically adopted them and “taken up arms,” portraying these as symbols of pride and honor…beacons of freedom itself. As objects, as possessions—they are harbingers of death. To soften this decidedly blunt reality, we romanticize them and place them upon a pedestal of the essential. That may or may not be true. Certainly, they do have value; surely their function has legitimate use.
But we have eclipsed these boundaries to a ludicrous degree. In the name and under the guise of self-defense, we insist on having the calibers and specs and quantities that we want—after all, others surely have them, and so must we! The cycle perpetuates. Military-grade firepower does not belong in our hands; no, it does not. It is quite literally overkill and results in overkill. The consequences are asinine.
But boys need their toys, right? Toys of death. We have an epidemic of immaturity in this country. Grown men…with small minds. They want what they want, and do not deny them their God-given rights. Tell me, are you allowed to possess nuclear weapons? Are you allowed even to possess mere dynamite? Of course not. How could we as a society justify such civilian armament? We could not, and we should not. Offer the infantile argument no more that you are in fact entitled to such things, just because a madman might get a hold of one first.
This is precisely what we’re doing with guns, of which there is a tremendous range in destructive intent. Kids are gaining access to semi-automatic and fully-automatic weapons and cutting down their peers in impulsive barrages of attention-seeking and hatred. They are gaining access because the access is there to be had. These things can be attained. These things are legal! How is it so? Politics…warped and cancerous. Large corporate interests at stake. Greed at stake. Egos at stake. We are facing stiff headwinds indeed. We must revolt against these diseased ideas that have become utterly entrenched—even if they are entrenched in us, in which case we must revolt against ourselves, our lower nature. This prevalence of gun-worship has become the dismal new norm.
I believe in the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment leaves finer discretion to us, however. We don’t need your shotguns. We don’t need your pistols. We don’t need your rifles—but we do need your assault rifles. These came into your possession in vain; it should not have happened. It was an error in policy and a profound lapse in moral judgment. These playthings are not playthings at all. The most dangerous instruments need to be recalled, for the benefit of all. Stop fooling yourself as to their necessity in your hands. You are enticed by their power, but they do not rightfully belong to you. Give up these pieces; release them from your possession. I imagine there will be some system of recompense for your material loss. Attachment and allure held sway over your better judgment for a time. Now it is time to move on.
No one wants to be outgunned, as they may lose the battle. This goes against our grain as defenders, as protectors. This is understandable. We rationalize that these assault weapons will not disappear from the streets. Worrisome arsenals surely are out there. It would be naive to think we could clear the country of all these weapons. That is true. We never will. Black markets and bad actors will always be.
Allow our law enforcement agencies to fight fire with fire; they are given that task. I know that law enforcement agencies sometimes fail to do just that, admittedly weakening this thesis; however, my hope is that law enforcement can and will improve. Charge them with the duty to confiscate, and to lower the numbers so much that these pieces become effectively uncommon. Of course, vigilante desires within the normal citizenry are a big factor in this volatile equation. In the name of self-defense, we shall take back the power! See the grave consequences of your extreme position. This is a call to sanity.
Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. You know, that’s true. You’re right about that, because a gun is in fact an inert, unthinking physical object. People are the problem. How does that weaken the argument in any way that people should not be using assault rifles? If anything, it seals the case. Get assault rifles out of our communities. Get assault rifles out of our society.
Our children deserve a lower gun count, not a higher one. Their proximity to such things should be reduced, not amplified. Guns do not solve the puzzle of guns. We as a society need to change our defense and our defensiveness. Maybe we can make our means just a bit more modest in this regard for the greater good. Take that risk for all of us. Make that sacrifice.
I know you don’t want to. I know you like your collection. Do it because you know you’ve been on the wrong side of history for awhile now. The atrocities are piling up. Accept the moral miscalculation that was made. We all make them.
We must demand an end to civilian access and ownership of assault rifles. These killing machines do not have a place in our homes, on our streets, in our schools. They do not have a place in the impressionable minds of our children.
To those who stubbornly remain of the mindset that they bear some intrinsic right to possess these brutal weapons, let me address you forcefully: The blood of our children is a steep tax indeed to have to pay for your right to the ultimate in weaponry. Your personal war arsenal does not justify the lives of our loved ones being snuffed out with ever-increasing and startling regularity. Easy access to serious things has terrible consequences. You have not been preventing chaos, but enabling it. Change your thinking. You do not need, and you should not have, instruments of mass casualty at your disposal. In the civil war you dream is to come, make do with your very powerful, single shot weapons. Allow this to suffice. We will work ardently in the meantime to even the playing field.
It’s time to change. Don’t tolerate this anymore. We’ve been passive on the matter for decades. Let’s have a profound new moment of dignity, a renewal and a legislative breakthrough honoring every person’s safety and well-being. Let’s ban assault rifles.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of those innocent lives lost at Uvalde, Tx.