There is nothing that I can say or do that I can help alleviate the pain and suffering of the families that have lost children to senseless acts of violence.
The most recent school shooting in Florida is another example of a failed system that has turned out some generational abhorrences that cannot be explained by television talking heads or paid political hacks looking to spin everything into an agenda-laden "I told you so" moment.
Today in Fort Smith is not here for the national news. Until one of these off-the-rail school shootings occurs in the seventeen county area we try to cover, then us reporting on those kinds of activities would be sensationalizing the issue, lacking in substance and, at the end of the day, redundant in the face of the slanted coverage blasting the airways and dominating social media completely.
But we are entitled to an opinion. And we have one. And that's the bottom line this time around.
If you are easily pissed off, or have ever utttered the phrase "safe space" you might want to skip the rest of this column.
Let's not label what our society has denigrated to as a Republican-Democrat/liberal-conservative problem and let's be real in assessing the situation.
Too many people who should not have guns have guns. The vast majority of those people fly under the radar of state and federal gun laws. It is estimated that up to 75% of the gun transactions conducted in this country are not done through gun shops, armories or even gun shows. They are done on the streets, in back rooms and back alleys in a criminal fashion by individuals that have something in common.
They're criminals.
We can make a trillion gun laws. We can close every loophole imaginable and we can trounce on the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding, hard-working, and tax-paying citizen in the United States and at the end of the day, they only people that will have guns that shouldn't have guns will be the same people that are shooting up society.
Criminals.
I own guns. I don't hunt, I don't go put to the shooting range and I have no desire to own any firearms beyond the 9mm pistol I keep close and the 12-gauge shotgun I keep in the closet. I have no criminal intent in owning those weapons. And should I ever reach the point where the need arises to level one of those weapons and point it at another human being, it would break my heart to have to pull the trigger.
But I would. In a heartbeat. To protect me, mine, and yours. It's hackneyed and cliched, but you have to got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. You break into my house, I'm going to shoot you. You assault a woman or a child--or for that matter anyone-- in my presence, I may not shoot you but I'll damn sure hold you at gunpoint until the police arrive.
I saw a meme the other day that basically said the NRA has never killed anyone and they don't get a penny of government funding while Panned Parenthood kills thousands of babies a week and they get millions from the government coffers.
Recognizing that as a conservative spin designed to slap down liberal attempts to demonize an inanimate object. one can still kind of see the logic behind the thought. If that offends your tender and politcal feelings, you'll get over it.
Or not. I don't really care either way.
I'll tell you has happened. We, as a society, have dehumanized the importance of life to the point that the lines have become blurred.
Let's forget about the aborted babies. Let's talk puppies and GoFundMe.
Just last week I saw and responded to a GoFundMe account where friends of an Air Force veteran were trying to raise money to offset the cost associated with outfitting the man with a myoelectric prosthetic for partial loss of a hand. They were trying to raise $18,000 and after three weeks were less than one-third of the way to that mark. (Let's forget the fact that the government should be handling those costs. But that's another rant for another day.)
Right down the page, there was another GoFundMe plea. "Bonnie from Ohio" was looking for $14,000 for a "needed" surgery for her beloved Shi Tzu who had developed medical issues that veterinarians had said was incurable cancer but she just couldn't "bear to not have the surgery and just watch Chi-Chi die" without trying to do something.
The page had raised over $19,000 in just a little over 36-hours.
And there, citizen, is your trouble. Our priorities are out of whack. Nothing against dogs, pet ownership, Bonnie, or Chi-Chi but when we value that scenario over something that impacts the life of a human being--especially one who has served our country -- or a baby in a womb, we have lost our way.
I don't believe for one minute that "tougher gun laws" are going to quell the acts of hatred and violence carried out in our society. We have lots of gun laws. What we need is enforcement of those laws and law enforcement agencies concerned more with following up on reported threats than trying to influence elections and will find a way to approach mental illness as a threat to society.
Not an excuse for not conforming.
Those that would exploit tragedy for their own selfish reasons will tell you that "thought and prayers' are useless in these turbulent times.
I say that's all we have left. Maybe we should use them more.