NOTE: I originally wrote this article back in 2012 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. I shelved it because I was trying to clean up my act of commenting on U.S. politics. I really just want to write about philosophy and travel. However, in light of the recent Orlando shooting and the comical publicity stunt by the democrats on the house floor, I’ve resurrected it (with a few edits). My original position still stands. Here we go…
The Gun Control Debate & Debacle
As an average American, I feel compelled to offer my thoughts on the recent and never-ending “debates” on gun control in the United States.
First of all, I believe in the Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms. However, that fact is not because I am a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a gun fanatic. For two decades, my career path did require me to carry a gun of some sort, everywhere I went. It was how I made a living. I used to own several guns, but I sold every one of them prior to moving to Southeast Asia. My lifestyle and interests have changed to where I no longer feel the need to arm myself. I travel too much to be able to carry a gun, anyway. No, I believe in the Second Amendment because it is a right afforded to U.S. citizens by the Constitution. Our forefathers found this to be an issue of the utmost importance and codified it. What I believe in is the Constitution. If that makes me an extremist, a gun-nut, right-wing, left-wing, insensitive, subversive, etc., then so be it. I’ve definitely been called a hell of a lot worse.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
How does the average person like me interpret A well regulated Militia? The word regulated (according to www.Merriam-Webster.com) is defined as: to bring under the control of law or constituted authority. Sit back and consider the current state of affairs the United States government finds itself in concerning the use of the U.S. military. American troops have been and are involved in more conflicts than our forefathers ever intended them to be. Our actions in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, specifically, could hardly fall under the auspices of the control of law, nor were those conflicts necessary to the security of a free State. The U.S. government may convince those ignorant of history that the conflicts were and are necessary, but they cannot convince those of us who are capable of independent thought.
What does this have to do with gun control? I personally believe that the original intent and idea of the Second Amendment was for the citizens of America to be able to defend America. I believe that the right of the people to keep and bear Arms was the earliest concern for homeland security. If the common people were armed, how could a foreign force succeed in an invasion? They may win the initial battles but armed citizens would immediately assume the roles of insurgents. Eventually, the invading force would be driven out and the government could rebuild and regroup. It was the ultimate insurance policy to ensure the country survived. It was the earliest plan for the continuity of government. It was so important, that the last words of the amendment issued an order. The order was that the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. I don’t think they could have chosen a more powerful phrase to make their intent known. They might as well have said, “Don’t fuck with this amendment!”
The people were designed to be the true defenders of our country. A well regulated militia meant a militia that was only as strong as was needed and nothing more. Why? Because nobody wanted to pay for a military when it wasn’t needed. Back then, the people actually had to pay to support soldiers and their equipment. They didn’t have the luxury of borrowing money from China and not worrying about paying it back. What has happened, especially since WWII, is that the U.S. government and the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC) has convinced the American public that a robust military is necessary. Their public relations division / Fox News (I consider them to be the same entity) easily scares the average American into believing their message.
The terrorists are trying to kill you so don’t worry about where we’re wasting your money.
Let me enlighten you on something: Fear makes money.
The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in the World Today
Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. called the United States government the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. I strongly agree with that statement and argue that they still hold the title. U.S. bombs have killed millions of civilians the world over. U.S. drones kill innocent children during their assassinations of Afghan and Pakistani farmers who have neither been indicted nor convicted of any crime against the United States. Drone strikes are happening as I write these words. Therefore, how can the United States government be so arrogant as to think that they can formulate a solution to the violence in America through gun control? Meanwhile, they are administering violence at an alarming rate and killing children with U.S. tax dollars. That doesn’t qualify them as experts in brokering peace. They have addressed what they refer to as insurgencies with violence and guns. But, to address bad guys in America, they want to take away guns from the good people? This coming from the same government officials who can’t even balance a budget? People who can’t even balance a check book? I’m confused.
Go ahead and make guns illegal or damn-near impossible to purchase new. That will work out just about as well as the Drug War. There are already too many gun laws on the books and too many law enforcement agencies to enforce them. Ask any ATF agent if he thinks he’s made a difference in getting illegal guns off the streets. If he tells you yes, he’s fucking lying. His efforts haven’t done anything, much like the efforts of the Drug War. We’ve been spending hundreds of billions of U.S. tax dollars to eradicate drugs, but I can still buy dope in any town in America. But you don’t have to believe me, just ask any police officer. Better yet, ask any high school student. They’ll confirm what I just said.
You can make guns illegal but what you will get is merely more futile police raids, which only serve the purpose of getting the chief a headline or two. Guns will be bought and sold on the black market just like drugs. I’ll still be able to buy guns in any town in America, except much easier. There are no background checks or waiting periods on the black market. Many law-abiding people will become pseudo-criminals because they refuse to give up their weapons. Only law-abiding conformists will be unarmed.
Guns are Important to Country Folk
The gun-control debate is another classic example of the scholars and the rich inside the beltway not understanding the poor and uneducated. When you are poor, especially if you are from the country, your guns are very important to you. Often, poor people only have their land, their family, and their guns. I assure you, they will fight you if you mess with either. They have nothing to lose. Guns are how they protect their family and hunt for food. Guns are necessary tools for living in the country.
Many country folks have been preparing for quite some time, for the possible scenario of government agents showing up to take their weapons. Want to invoke a mini-insurgency inside our country? Go ahead and try to repeal the Second Amendment. The words God and Christmas have already been treaded on too much from the perspective of this demographic of people. Fuck with their guns and you may push the masses over the line. I strongly recommend against doing so, because it could get ugly. If it came to an all-out brawl and some gun battles, do you really think a bunch of ivy-league F.B.I. agents, with their few months of firearms training, would be successful against an entire demographic of citizens who have been shooting squirrels out of trees since they were five years old?
Don’t Mess with Texas
I would probably say that Texas will secede from the U.S. if severe gun-control laws are enacted and then adopt an even stronger Second Amendment for their citizens. Personally, I’d love to see this happen. You feel like you’re in a different country when you’re in Texas, anyway. The slogan Don’t Mess with Texas applies to their guns as well.
Pure Hypocrisy
President Obama has spoke frequently about change and has used that term in regards to the debate on gun control. I am curious about something, though. When U.S. army Sergeant Robert Bales walked into a poor Afghan village and gunned down innocent men, women, and children with his U.S. issued weapons, where was the outcry for change? There is an air of hypocrisy about this situation. There was no cry for change, gun control, or calls for an end to the War in Afghanistan when this incident happened. What message can one derive from this? That it’s OK to massacre civilians as long as you’re using a gun supplied by the U.S. government? No Vice-President appointed task forces needed on gun control for that one. Wrong color skin and they don’t speak English anyway. Therefore, everyone’s stocks are safe.
Relax everyone, we can keep building the guns, bombs, and bullets and bankrupting the taxpayers. The American public will forget about a few dead Afghan babies in a week or so. Fox News can spin it to where the Sgt. is the victim because of PTSD. Get back to work on those M-4’s.
(Yes, that’s a bit condescending, but reality nonetheless.)
Young people from the inner cities have been affected by gun violence for decades. Young black males have been dying in disproportionate numbers on a routine basis. I guess they didn’t rate a VP-led task force either. The hypocrisy.
The Root Cause of Gun Violence in The United States
The U.S. government’s sanctioning of violence in an effort to fuel the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex has created an air of confusion among our young people, especially those with weak and easily influenced personalities. When they see the U.S. government dishing out massive doses of violence in order to solve their disputes, what are they supposed to think? What do they derive from this? They deduce that violence is the appropriate way to handle their own disputes. It’s mimicry. That’s part of the problem. The U.S. government is leading by example. The problem is, it is a terrible example for our children. Bad karma.
This is what a child must be thinking subliminally:
The U.S. government addresses its problems with guns and violence, which they say is patriotic. Fox News says the military is killing insurgents, which is good. Hollywood makes every movie to where the good guy always wins by using guns and violence. My video game is about winning through violence, and winning is a good thing. So, violence must be the way you solve problems and win in life.
The second and third order effects of the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex lead to the social issues in America.
First, the American taxpayer is having massive amounts of money extorted from him to pay for unnecessary military excursions. Therefore, dad has to work overtime and a part-time job on the weekends to pay the bills. In the America of today, most of the time, mom has to work as well. (There are very few June Cleavers left in our country.) This leaves their teenage son at home to raise himself on Call of Duty, Halo, and the other violently graphic video games—hours upon hours of shooting at his friends while eating frozen Totino’s pizzas and drinking Monster energy drinks. They have the house all to themselves with plenty of free time to browse dad’s guns in the top of his closet in between games.
Yes, I will contribute the violence in America to video games and Hollywood as well, but only as secondary contributors.
The root cause of this social problem is the United States government and their waste of dad’s tax dollars. They are stealing him blind to the point that he cannot properly raise his children. If dad had those tax dollars in his pocket instead of the government’s accounts, mom could stay at home and not have to work. Traditional values could return to the family, such as eating together every night, discipline, and parental involvement. Mom’s guidance would be feared. If her words were not adhered to, dad would be home at a reasonable hour and deal with the problem.
Want to know the secret element to controlling the violence in America today? Dad’s belt. Yep, dad’s belt is the answer. It is the answer to a problem of culture. The problem does not lie with guns and the answer is not gun control. Gun control is the equivalent of the Drug War; a tragic joke played on the taxpayers by Nixon. Dad’s belt blistering the ass of a wayward child and then showing unconditional love is the change needed to stop school shootings. America needs a cultural change in how we raise our children. It starts with dad being present. It continues with dad properly governing his household.
But, dads in America really don’t even have the authority to properly govern their household. If they spank a child, they could go to jail. Family law in the United States immediately removes the father from the daily lives of his children upon the wife filing for divorce. The father then becomes a guy that the kids see for two weekends a month who has no authority over them. You really think a woman can rise teenage boys on her own? They are hard enough for a man to control and influence. The U.S. government needs to stay the hell out of family business. Period.
In simple terms, gun violence is a result of the absence of fathers. The fathers are absent because they have to constantly work to pay excessive taxes to the U.S. federal government. They are stripped of their authority as a parent and removed from the home by illogical family law. Ponder that shit for a minute.
How Do You Stop an Active Shooter?
Until there is a cultural change in how we raise our children, I have to agree with the National Rifle Association on one point. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun show up. When you dial 911, do you want a cop showing up who’s unarmed? In America, I don’t think so. Would any cop in America even respond to a call without their weapons? Fuck no. They want to go home at night. Teachers and school administrators are generally good people. You trust them with your children every day, so you must have some faith in them. There would be no harm in arming them, even though it troubles me to think that our country has come to this. We’ve already armed our commercial pilots.
Until there is a cultural change in how we raise our children, gun control laws should be abolished instead of tightened. Let every tax-paying citizen carry a gun if he or she chooses. Why? Because the current situation in America doesn’t work. Dialing 911 does not stop the bad guy immediately. He can kill dozens before the first police officer arrives. A bartender armed with a Mossberg .12 gauge pump shotgun will stop a shooter immediately. It’s merely common sense and logic.
Try to think about it from a first-hand perspective. You’re in a crowded movie theater with your children and someone starts shooting. Do you want to wait five to ten minutes for a cop or would you rather the guy next to you pull out a gun and protect you and your kids? Hmmm.
Anti-Violence Task Forces and The Hair on My Tits
I live in reality, unlike most politicians. The real police officers of America (local cops) live in reality. They are the only ones truly qualified to even have the discussion about addressing this issue, and not the rich elite inside the beltway. Local cops personally deal with these issues everyday. What do rich politicians know about the streets of America, guns, criminality, the mentally ill, or violence? Absolutely nothing. So why would Vice-President Joe Biden be the pivot man on this issue? I don’t know, but it’s both comical and disappointing. Nothing against the VP; I think he’s a great guy and I’d love to have a few drinks with him. But, he still doesn’t know shit about how to address the issue of gun violence in America. U.S. government officials and politicians sipping on Starbucks inside the beltway are just trying to justify their existence with any commentary on the violence occurring in America.
Anti-Gun-Violence Task Forces set up by politicians and U.S. government officials are about as useful as the hair on my tits. Simple.
Bill of Rights
The government has already infringed upon the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech by its attacks on Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, John Kiriakou, Edward Snowden, and many others. The American people have allowed this to happen without realizing that it directly affects their own, individual rights. The U.S. government’s actions since 9/11 have seriously infringed upon our First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights as well. Now the government is attempting to infringe upon the Second Amendment. What’s next? An entire repeal of the Bill of Rights? Address the root of the problem.
Way on Down the Road
One final, scary, theoretical and conspiratorial thought is that if guns are severely restricted, and many years (decades) down the line the supply begins to dwindle, the criminal element might choose to further educate themselves on the use of improvised explosive devices (bombs). The materials required to make a small bomb are easily obtained and readily available. Personally, I would rather deal with an active shooter. At least I know where he is and where to go to stop him. A bomb is difficult to detect. Want to have real panic in our country? Have a quietly placed backpack blow up in an elementary school classroom and see what happens. The critics won’t be able to blame the NRA for that one. Whose fault will it be then? Ask any police officer, soldier, Marine, or anyone else responsible for confronting bad guys this question: Would you rather face a man with a gun or walk down a path that is potentially mined? Personally, I’ll take my chances confronting the bad guy with the gun. The criminal element will adapt. They always do. If the government creates this monster, don’t say I didn’t bring it up.
The Only Task Force Needed
Gun control? That’s infringing on a constitutional right, whether you like it or not. How about Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex control instead. That would be more productive and adhere to the Second Amendment (well regulated militia). As an American citizen, I would like to appoint President Barack Obama, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, as the head of a Task Force on MICC Control. If controls were enacted on MICC, the United States of America and the entire world would be a better place.
What Can You Do?
What can you as a taxpayer do? Contact your U.S. senator today and make an appointment with him/her. Demand that they cut government spending, stop unnecessary military excursions, and give you back your money. That way you can spend time raising your children. If you don’t, violent video games and Hollywood will raise your children for you. If that’s the case, then don’t be surprised when they shoot up a school, a movie theater, or a nightclub while you and your spouse are at work. Believe it or not, the politicians do work for you. Raise your voice and remind them of that.
If you have an opinion concerning gun control, I urge you to speak up and be heard. I urge the real cops of America (people actually qualified to have an informed conversation on the matter) to speak up and become the driving force on the issue. The rich, elitist politicians inside the beltway don’t have the slightest clue.
You might think I’m a gun fanatic in disguise after reading this article. However, that assessment is the farthest thing from the truth. I actually consider myself a peace activist. I am strongly anti-war. I deplore violence. My personal opinion on guns themselves? I would eradicate every weapon from a handgun to nuclear bombs off the face of the earth if it were in my power. Unfortunately, that course of action is not steeped in reality.
In the violence-plagued streets of the United States of America, guns are a necessary evil. They also happen to be a constitutional right.
Lead by Example or Shut the Fuck Up About Gun Control
If the President of the United States agrees to disarm his/her personal Secret Service detail, including those agents who watch over his/her family, then we should all seriously think about making some concessions. It would be time to listen. Until he/she does that, I do not want to be lectured by anyone in the U.S. government about guns. You have no standing in my opinion. That’s pure hypocrisy in plain view.
The ability of the average citizen to protect his family and defend himself should be perfectly equal to the security of any government official.