First of all, I want to state that
I am not, and never have been a fan of politics. That being said, I think that our differing
political parties both have good points when it comes to gun control in this
country. On one hand we want to uphold
our 2nd amendment right to “bear arms”. I think most people would agree that this
right was given to us during a time in history when it was very important for
men to be able to provide security and well-being for themselves and their
families. While some of this transfers
to our current lifestyles, guns simply don’t play the same role in today’s
world that they once did. This brings us
to the other side of the argument. Better
control of where guns and ammunition are sold will limit who can own them, and
protect innocent people from tragic events that cost lives. While I understand both sides of the
argument, I tend to lean towards the right for legal, law abiding, responsible
citizens to purchase and own these guns.
We are at a point in time where we will never be free of crime, hate, or
murder. I have no issue with the attempt
to make our cities and towns safer, but I don’t think that new laws that
restrict the “good people” will have much, if any effect on the people
determined to cause harm and chaos. Not
everyone will agree with me, but that’s fine, we’ll move on to the real
problem.
While
gun control is always on the long list of political agenda, it doesn’t really
come to the fore-front until an awful event happens such as the recent “movie
massacre” in Colorado. Why is it that
the answer to this problem is always “we need better gun control”? Do we really think that adding more paperwork
to the process is going to solve anything?
What about the price? If these
disturbed people want to cause the tragedy, they will find a way to do it. Guns aren’t the only things that kill. Why aren’t we focusing on the root of the
problem? What gets into the heads of
these people that would make them want to kill another human being? Hmm… Could it be the countless movies and TV
shows that we are watching? We are all
guilty of enjoying the action and suspense involved in getting the bad
guy. We sit on the edge of our seats as
we see people getting killed one after another so that the hero comes out on
top. Or maybe it’s the hundreds of video
games out now that focus on killing our enemies. We’ve literally made a game out of death and
destruction. With all of this mind
pollution available to our younger generation, how many of them are becoming
incapable of realizing the difference between reality and virtuality? How many of these people are losing the
respect for human life? How many of them
have never been taught that respect at all?
So
where does this leave us? What can be
done? Well, maybe we should tighten the
rope on the entertainment industry. Or
maybe we should just be more aware of what we’re watching, or more importantly,
what our children are watching. There was a time when some of these movies and
games were unimaginable, a time when they were clean and wholesome, but still
entertaining. What has happened? I think it’s taking more and more for us to
be entertained. We need more action,
more edginess. After all, this is
America, we should get what we want, right? “Don’t take away my right to be entertained!” We can’t have it both ways, people. If we’re feeding our minds with the violence,
there’s bound to be violence coming out somewhere. Controlling the guns is NOT the only
answer.
