Too Many Murders—Part 2

What is going on here? Why can't we Americans take any definitive action to curb the bloodshed? I believe it's definitely not an issue that can be dealt with by gun control laws. As soon as the topic of gun laws comes up, the opposing, polarized sides face off, entrench, and any chance of collaborating to stop the slaughter is stymied. Americans are unwilling to face the truth that our gun violence has roots so deep that passing a few restrictive laws will have little effect. Those who favor guns will simply chip away at the edges of the laws, in order to enfeeble them. That is what has happened in the abortion issue.

America's gun problem that leads to these mass murders can be viewed primarily as a failure of our society. It's not a single bad apple shooting people up or a mentally ill kid that leads to these deaths—it is literally a mentally-ill society that promotes the slaughter. We may ask how did that kid reach that state of mind, or why his parents seemed to be ignorant of his plans, or why was the school not made into an impenetrable fortress? These are shallow questions that miss the deeper truths: our conflictual society created that kid; it created ineffectual parents; it created a gun culture that is out of control. 

Until we face the truth that our society is fundamentally unhealthy, no amount of tweaking laws that nibble at the edge of symptoms will solve anything. We are not yet ready to admit the depth and breadth of our sickness—let alone conceive of the fundamental societal transformation that is required to make significant change.

A healthy society can make several basic changes to discourage this and other kinds of violence. By this I mean to imply that our societal violence is far wider than people killing each other with guns; it also encompasses racist violence, economic violence in the form of gross inequality, poor education, voting suppression, etc. In contrast, a healthy society possesses (1) a functional democracy, (2) a citizenry nurtured to be robust in mind and body, (3) free and effective education, (4) safety and security, and (5) equality, and other nurturing processes. The US falls far short in all of these areas.

I am not able to offer a simple, expeditious solution to our gun fetish—or these other problems of our society. The problem is complex and deep—the solutions are thus comprehensive and profound. Legislation cannot do it, as long as we are so divided and lack an effective democracy. We need to admit our problems and seek fundamental changes that will begin to offer some of the features of a healthy society listed above. Like an alcoholic who is in denial, however, we are not yet ready to change.

Too Many Murders—Part 1

I ordinarily avoid posting about current events or breaking news in society—preferring to stick to the natural world and to philosophical topics. There already is far too much dispute over society's problems, as people scream at each other over the yawning gap that separates them. Social media add their angry insults to the mix, while mainstream media offer their well-worn and cliched comments. Yet nothing changes.

I shy away from addressing current events—especially when they are tragic—because our first response to them is often knee-jerk and superficial in nature. It's easy to respond with an overly-emotional thought that one later regrets having had. In this posting and the next, however, I will express some thoughts about two recent examples of ongoing crises in US culture—thoughts that I have been pondering for a long time. The fact that these calamities are repetitive phenomena that have been recurring for decades sets them aside from current events or late-breaking news. They are concerns that many of us Americans have agonized over for several years—wondering if our country may finally have had enough travesty and will ultimately rise up to do something about it. The first crisis I will address here is gun violence. The following post will look at the harm that the Republican Party has inflicted on the country, for some four decades now.

Gun violence: let me first try to put this crisis into context, to understand it as a deep, chronic problem in the US. Viewed from the perspective of every other relatively stable society on Earth, the frequency of deaths by guns in America is astonishingly high, as is the number of guns in circulation. The recent elementary school massacre in Texas is the latest painful reminder of the legacy of American gun culture. 

It is worth noting, however, that the vast majority of gun deaths in the US are not due to someone entering a school with an assault rifle and committing mass murder, but are due to single killings and suicides with pistols. Nevertheless, every time a massacre occurs, it is usually perpetrated against harmless people and catches the attention of the whole nation and creates grief and anger among most people. The slaughters seems to be endless.

The outpouring of sorrow after a massacre is typically immediately followed by outrage that yet another mass murder of innocents has occurred, along with demands that something be done about it. New gun laws are called for, but the powerful coalitions that created the culture of guns quickly stifle any efforts to confront gun violence, as the nation settles back into other distractions—until the next massacre.

Some people push for stricter gun laws, while the opposite view promotes increased gun ownership in order to combat the shootings. Some point to the widespread gun culture and lack of controls, while others blame a massacre on a lone individual, an isolated bad apple, and even call for more guns to stop the killings. Some push for restrictive laws, while others block any such action. Decade after decade goes by, while the gun lobby prevents any meaningful legislation, and the mass killings (as well as individual deaths) continue, and even escalate.

Next time, part 2