DISCLAIMER: I am not an advocate of a gun ban because it is a moot point with a market that is saturated with firearms and firearms manufacturers. A ban would only serve to put firearms in a black market situation; much like alcohol in Prohibition, and we all know how well THAT turned out. Gun control is certainly an option, but would require enforcement and would not eliminate shootings/violence
With all that being said, what is left to dissuade would-be violent criminals? The adage of having both "carrot and stick" as a motivator for human behavior is really all that remains.
Laws (the "stick") only serve to define a punishment for people who break them. Sure they are a deterrent for people who are frightened by such things, but the real criminal element are probably going to break the law no matter how it reads.
I was in a recent discussion with someone who suggested that the Tucson shootings would not have happened if gun control were more stringent and enforced. I agree with him, however, if the shooter were determined enough, guns are available through other means....and they always will be. Sure this specific shooting may not have happened. But gun control would not eliminate tragedies like those that have occured in Tucson, Columbine, or others....
The real question is: how do we change the human experience so that violence doesn't even become an option? I agree that a life out of prison is a "carrot" that I'll take any day, but people who are hell-bent to cause destruction don't see it that way. This is a question of education and evolution.
Education of our children. Education for ourselves. We must evolve as a species.
Next time you say one of the following things, THINK about the message your words send:
- "I wish they'd just die!"
- "I HATE YOU!"
- "I'm going to beat the ____ out of you!"
An Icon in 90's infomercial television was a spiky haired blond named Susan Powter. The "STOP THE INSANITY!" diet craze. She took those words and used them until we had them pounded in our heads.
I think it is time for a resurgence, but lets apply it to the way we communicate. STOP the INSANITY, the ANGER, the HATE SPEECH, the PREJUDICE.
If enough of us choose to live in a society that communicates rather than inflames maybe we really can make a difference.
We have been very lucky in the US to not have experienced the violence that ALL of our neighbors have had to live with. It is hard to look at the World news and not see violence that is either occurring, or occured.
This lack means that the US has to be doing SOMETHING right. What are we doing right and how do we expand on that success?
Just something to ponder.....
