Gun control. We
always know on the heels of a horrific event like what happened in Newtown, Connecticut
we will begin hearing it. It becomes the
anti-gun crowd versus the 2nd amendment folks.
It is a given. I see both points and understand the origins of both
arguments. I also recognize the passion
that both groups have. I am very
strongly in one camp but my 'gun rights' opinion does not belong here.
What happens in the United States whether it is in at a high
school or theater in Colorado, a mall in Idaho or an elementary school filled
with precious children is not a gun issue; it is a mental illness issue. To ignore that fact and go straight to the
low-hanging fruit of "gun control" is not only short-sighted, it is
irresponsible. It is like putting on
blinders to a roof that has been torn to shreds by a tornado with rain pouring
in and focusing on a leaky faucet.
"Gun control" is the easier of the two tasks. In fact, addressing ALL mental illness and
averting any potential outburst is an impossible task. That said, more, MUCH
more can be done.
In the United States we are blessed to live in a free
society. No one tells us how to worship, dress, talk or love. We have an abundance of choices. That is a blessing and it comes with a good
deal of danger. Because we are free that
means our neighbor is free. We embrace
"differences" and even in our school system we believe it is best to
"mainstream" children who have emotional and mental disabilities --
sometimes grave emotional disabilities.
In California my school teacher, sister told me once of a middle school
boy who was so emotionally disturbed that he had to be escorted around the
school with a body guard paid for by tax payers -- not to protect the boy but
to protect people FROM the boy. His
parents sued to have their child educated with his "peers". The
school was forced to comply. I went to
school once with a person who displayed nonsensical emotional outbursts, and
often fell into dark places proclaiming how bad life was and how "nobody
appreciated" this person. This person
alluded to things that lead one to believe he might end his life. Then the next day all would be fine. A couple of us wondered if this person was
dangerous to us and to themselves. But
what to do? It was like it never happened
within 24 hours. Would we be over reacting
if we intervened? This person was a
drama queen and often did things for attention and to get sympathy. What is a real sign of alarm and what is not?
The problem with living in a free society is that it is
dangerous and it is complicated. It is
far easier to lock up all the guns in the country and pretend we have solved
something than it is to identify and help the troubled people who carry out
these heinous acts of terror. We can't
round them up and lock them up like we can inanimate objects like guns! We can't control how parents raise organically
troubled children nor tell parents how to not create troubled children. We can't bar them from public places. It is not guns that carry out these acts --
it is people, very disturbed, sick and sometimes evil people. Not all of them can be saved, changed or
helped. That is a sad and hard fact of
life in a free society.
It has become wildly popular in our nation to 'embrace the
differences', to not require anyone to 'conform', I am 'free to be me' is a
battle cry of certain groups. That is
all well and good on the surface but how different is TOO different? We are deeply hesitant to 'label'
anyone. When SHOULD we label
someone? In our society it is often
after-the-fact -- it is too late then to save the innocence they have taken
away. Innocent until proven guilty is
our way of life. If we want that way of
life we have to accept sometimes dire consequences.
Can nothing be done?
It will never be totally safe to live in a free society. Even if Kumbaya is your anthem part of you
motto will probably also be 'live and let live'. Your neighbor might be very different from
you. We CAN do some things though. We can focus on the REAL issue following
tragedies like the one that shattered the Christmas season and lives of so many
in a picturesque Connecticut town yesterday morning. Guns are NOT the issue. Recall Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people, 19
of them school children with a truck, fertilizer and fuel -- not a single
bullet. The 9/11 highjackers didn't use
a single bullet either and killed 2,753 people. All the people involved lived IN our country,
IN our society, around people like us and might have been stopped had we been
more willing to 'label', if we had been more discriminating. We know that is a slippery
slope but we are so hell bent on not profiling and to NOT discriminate; we
don't want stigmatize anyone because of how they look or because they are a
little 'different'. The definition of discriminate
is innocent and meaningful.
dis·crim·i·nat·ing [dih-skrim-uh-ney-ting]
1. Differentiating;
analytical.
2. Noting
differences or distinctions with nicety;
3. Having
excellent taste or judgment.
4. Differential,
as a tariff.
5. Possessing distinctive features capable of
being differentiated
We have got to discriminate -- not in the political sense
but in the real sense of the word. Until
we are willing to notice differences, discuss them and weigh them we are going
to let mentally disturbed and mentally ill people fall through the cracks. We discriminate
when we make choices every day what foods are good and bad for us; are we
driving too fast; is that dog going to bite me are all discriminating thoughts. Until we are willing to do it more openly we
are going to put ourselves and our children at risk. Some people can be helped but we, cloaked in
our guise of 'tolerance', are not helping them; some people cannot be
helped. It is a sad fact of humanity with
a broad gene pool and an uncontrolled, free human environment. We do not have
an epidemic of mental illness either -- what we have is an epidemic of the
denial of mental illness. Denial and
misdirection are our short-comings. But believe this -- we cannot and will not
ever be able to stop them all. We will
never be able to foretell every possible tragedy. We must accept the dangers of a free society
if we want a free society.
God bless the people of Connecticut, of Colorado, of Idaho
and God bless the people of America.
Today and every day I pray. Maybe that too is something we should do
more of.
