Today 17 kids were killed in a mass shooting in Florida. Most of the people killed haven't even been identified and the political rhetoric heated up, as it always does in these horribly tragic moments.
Invariably, calls for more restrictive gun ownership rules could be heard. Those calls ran the gamut from tighter background checks to outright ban on gun ownership. Also, those on this side of the argument tend to believe (or SAY they believe) there is a straight line connection from freedom of gun ownership to events such as Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, and Florida. To those who support the 2nd Amendment these ideas are nothing less than infringing on constitutional guaranteed rights.
Also invariably, those who support gun ownership and the 2nd Amendment push back against those ideas and suggestions. To nearly all on this side, the Constitution is the final day on this matter. There is no equivocation. To those who support tighter rules or even outright bans, this push back and philosophy is completely heartless.
The arguments for and against, in each givers eyes, are valid. Especially in times of such grave tragedy.
The solutions are perplexing and not easily attainable.
While I can offer no real solutions, I feel the tug in both directions. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I truly believe all other inalienable rights we have are guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment. As long the general population has the right to defend themselves, the government is somewhat curtailed in their ability to strip other freedoms from us. Saying all that, I certainly feel the emptiness and helplessness that many feel when tragedy strikes. Prayers are useful, they can give comfort to many, especially those who have a close relationship with God. But it doesn't seem to be enough to prevent the next tragedy from happening.
Some observations, and understand that I am coming from freedom's point of view:
I finished high school as the decade of the 70's came to a close. This was during the time when education was transitioning from more traditional education, focused on knowledge, to a more liberal education, highlighting progressive ideals. Many classes and courses of study that were familiar to my generation and those before were soon to be eliminated. For example, the once common "shop" class, or vocational training, are now almost non existent. Another course that was offered in many schools was a gun safety class. It was not a requirement for graduation but was offered to those had guns in the home. Additionally, our "health" class also covered gun safety as a topic. It was brief, but it covered the basics such as all guns are loaded and never point a weapon at something you don't intend to shoot. Nowadays, you'll not find any discussion of gun safety at any juncture of a young persons education. It has become such an off-limit topic that even casual discussions of guns can get a student expelled or a teacher suspended.
Kind of shifting gears here. I will admit there definitely seems to be an up tick in mass shootings in recent years. I often wonder if our culture has anything to do with this trend. And before you jump on the gun culture is at fault bandwagon, you need to remember at no time in our history as a nation has there been more restrictive gun laws. Background checks were almost unheard of only 50 years ago. Conceal/carry permits were also not part of gun ownership.
I am mostly referring to how disconnected we seem to be as a society. I really don't think we develop interpersonal relationships the way we used to. Back in the day most of us of a certain generation could count on one, maybe two, hands our close friends and of those, two or three we were tight with. Nowadays, we count how many "friends" we have in Facebook or how many followers we have on other social media platforms. Does this create a human disconnect? I really think so. We are not as close to those around us as we used to be. When we got to know those in our circle, we got to know them. We knew their families, had dinners with those families. We knew their sisters and brothers. We called their parents Mr. and Mrs so-and-so. Even if we knew their names, we wouldn't dare. If the friend was particularly close, we might even get away with calling their parents mom and dad. I'm guessing that if you looked at your list of friends, other than those from your early days, you would be hard pressed to know little more than superficial information.
As I write this next part of the piece I am very much aware that much of what I will say will be generalized, maybe overly so. But I sometimes wonder if many the youth of today (Facebook generation) have the skills needed to develop deep friendships. Or maybe they lack the desire. A generation raised on 134 (whatever) character sound bites might have difficulties digging very deep. If it doesn't fit into a tweet or a comment it might be too much of a hassle. There is no way you can really know about something when you receive your information in small, incomplete pieces. Could this be one of the root causes of what happened in Florida? Could it be that many of us feel so disconnected from society that we no longer view our fellow man as humans? How much easier is it to commit crimes at this level when maybe the perpetrator doesn't view the victims as such, but just targets.
Even the older generations are not immune to this disconnect. You can see it often with the way we interact online. How often, while exchanging difference of opinion, does a conversation deteriorate to name calling and character assassination? I realize it is quite a stretch to go from some nasty comments on Facebook to shooting up a school. But I believe in my heart there is a long and winding connection. But think about this, twenty years ago, before social media, would most people speak to one another as they do online? Realizing there are outliers, I would have to say most of us would not. There was a respect in face to face meetings. And in some cases, fear. Fear that if you spoke out of turn or disrespectful, you might get your ass handed to you. For many, the need to be respectful (or fearful) disappears with the anonymity or distance.
I've rambled a bit, but to bring it home I think there is something to be said about an indistinct line that be drawn from a society that is experiencing a human to human connection and the actions of people who commit these horrific crimes
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