Monday, December 17, 2012

This Feels Different!

“We can’t tolerate this anymore.  These tragedies must end.  And to end them we must change.  We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true.  No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.  But that can’t be an excuse for inaction.  Surely we can do better than this.  If there is even one step that we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and Communities from columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try.  In the coming weeks I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this.”
The president addressed the mourners in Newtown, Connecticut last night and with these words called on the nation to change a culture of violence that has been metastasizing within our society.
Certainly we have witnessed tragedies similar to this before.  We have heard the rhetorical drumbeat for change.  But this feels different.  Perhaps it is the age of the innocent victims.  Perhaps it is because this tragedy occurred at a time when children should be eagerly anticipating the joy of the holidays…not fearing for their very lives.  This feels different.     
There are those on the right already accusing the president of using this tragedy to politicized gun control.  If that is the case then so be it; because the culture of violence in this country has gotten out of hand.  We applaud the president’s remarks and we would encourage him to take every available opportunity to make certain that this time the conversation leads to action.
There are decent, responsible gun owners out there who are calling for change as well.  In the past 48 hours we have head many of them calling for a ban on assault rifles, armor piercing ammunition and extended capacity clips.  As one gun enthusiast said: “I like to hunt and target shoot…and I want a pistol in my home to protect my family.  But I can’t name you one instance where someone used a semi-automatic assault rifle or an extended capacity clip to protect himself or his home.”
Perhaps that would be a good place to start.      
It should be noted that this conversation cannot only be about guns.  If we are to be successful in making our society safer then the conversation has to include the way we deal with mental health issues and the graphic violence that is pervasive in video games, movies and television. 
It’s also about parenting.  For if we allow our children to sit in front of a video screen and watch graphic violence for hours on end is it any wonder that they become desensitized to the real affects of violence in our society?
Our government spends trillions of dollars keeping us safe from terrorists who mean to do us harm.  Yet they stand idly by as we slaughter ourselves. 
Since Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in 1968 over 1,000,000 Americans have died from gunshot wounds.  This carnage needs to stop.
The tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut offers an opportunity for something good to develop from something so horrific. 
This feels different.  Let us hope that it really is.

         

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