Cynicism Isn’t the Answer, But It Takes Hard Work Not To Go There
Gun control is once again a current topic; it’s a theme that recurs in the U.S. on a regular basis as new mass shooting every few days claims more innocent lives, and leaves a new stream of grief and anger in its wake.
It’s now fairly clear that virtually nothing is going to happen to stop this ongoing tragedy. There are people in our Congress with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby / National Rifle Association, but there aren’t nearly enough of them to make the changes we need to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
The fact that 89% of Americans want things like universal background checks for gun sales is completely meaningless, something we should have learned after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, where 20 children six and seven years old, as well as six adult staff members were fatally shot.
The NRA’s mission is to make as close to zero concessions as possible to these 89% of Americans; when big money comes into play, the concept of human suffering means nothing whatsoever.
Given all this, where do we stand with respect to climate change mitigation? What percentage of Americans care about this subject, and would like to see government push for clean energy as a replacement to fossil fuels?
Well, it turns out that this figure is somewhere around 70%, a bit over two-to-one. But here’s the problem: Just like gun control, the will of the people is completely irrelevant.
Now, let’s talk about cynicism, as named in this post’s title. This is exactly what suppressive forces want: apathy and resignation. They’re thrilled when people like you and me to give up; in fact, they’re counting on it.
Well, I’d to suggest something: despite the stranglehold that these forces have on the well-being of the people, we’re not quitting. Want to get rich turning the present-day U.S. into Sarajevo in the 1990s? Want to line your pockets by melting the icecaps? Go for it. We’re here to fight you all the way.
Craig,
I can feel your anger and outrage, but your claims make absolutely no sense ! In fact, I believe that your name calling and abusive approach is counter-productive.
There are more than 100 million legal gun owners in the US. 44% of households own at least one gun. that makes a nonsense of your claim that 89% of American’s want any restriction on ownership, although when asked a vague enough question they may respond favorably.
“The Will of the people” is clearly not being frustrated ! More Americans own guns than vote !
The idea of American’s being denied anything because of “big money” is a myth. It’s an excuse always employed by idealistic groups lacking any appeal to the general public.
(If it were true, things like Prohibition etc would never have been enacted).
Sadly, gun ownership is deep within the American Psyche. Every TV show, Movie. magazine cover, dime store novels, video games, etc, feature Guns as accessories to Sex and Glamour.
No politician would alienate 89% of the electorate. The gun lobby may have influence, but it must also have genuine appeal to voters or would be easily defeated.
Your enemy is not the NRA or gum manufacturers, it’s American history and American fascination with the gun culture.
The USA gun problem will be very hard hard to eradicate. Passing laws doesn’t always fix the problem, or illicit drugs would have long since disappeared.
I don’t know the answer, but I would suggest de-glamourizing guns might be a more effective place to start than ranting against invented evil doers.