Okay, let’s get this out of the way first. I am a liberal. I voted for Obama, I voted against Kasich, and Trump is a hilariously scary thing, much like The Scream series of movies. That being said, I am going to posit a very unpopular opinion on here, and I expect to get flamed to death for it. Here it is:
Most Gun Owners are not Irresponsible Psychopaths.
There. I said it. Here is why I say this: A specific subgroup of Man has ruined the ecology of most of the world with his short-sightedness. Not the Native American, not the African, Not the Arab, and not the Asian. It is us. The European derived population. Us Americans especially. We are the extreme of the bunch, in a lot of ways. We always have to think our way is better, even when it is a total cockup.
We have to take care of what is left. Even if it is so badly out of balance that extremes are necessary. One of those extremes are hunting. If you live in a large city, or a somewhat densely populated area, I honestly expect you to say that I am barbaric, and I don’t understand what guns are doing to this country. I do understand, but I see it as only a symptom of the disease.
Yes, guns can be used for evil, and are used for that very purpose far too often. But there are many that are not. But leave it to us Americans to be the “Lookie Lous” of the world. We value all of the wrong things. We are too much like the child who only wants the next shiny bauble. It’s getting worse every day.
I’ve heard some truly stupid things on many political news sites, even including here. I’m beginning to believe that we have almost as many crackpots as the other side. I mean, come on people, are we really going to gripe about performance cars, when they are more efficient and get better economy and smog ratings than an economy car of 20 years ago?
Anyway, it may seem like I am meandering all over the map, but everything I have mentioned is what I view as a symptom. Guns? Check. Vapid celebrities that are famous for totally inane reasons? Check. The pursuit for money and one-upmanship? Definitely. Too many times today I am seeing “Fuck you, I got mine”. And that is wrong.
So much depends on “Hard Skills” that our soft skills are totally ignored. We are quickly losing our humanity. For example, how many people have you actually talked to today? I’m not talking text, facebook, skype, or any facsimile thereof? Do you actually know the face of the lady that takes your money at the gas station? If you don’t own a car, how about the local greengrocer? Have you just smiled at anyone today without any reason or need at all?
If not, seriously consider the fact that you may be disconnecting from the really important stuff. And that is the disease. I’m no genius, but I have a few ideas.
Education really needs a revamp. Not just formal schooling, but everything. Children are taught enough to be good employees. No critical thinking skills, nothing taught to them that may rock the boat. No civics now, no government, nothing that lets them know just how they should fit into the world in the way that can make them happy in an accomplished way. They are taught to conform, to obey.
Another area is something you have to have. A job. We spend way too much time working. We don’t make the money we deserve, but at the same time we don’t need what we want. We want nice things, and we are entitled to them, but why keep buying when we don’t have time to enjoy what we already have? And because we are so stressed from work, we have to have time to decompress. If you just spent 10 or 12 hours at work, how are you supposed to be able to take that critical hour or so to collect your thoughts? Your kids are hungry, homework has to be done, and the dogs have to go out. How can you honestly take 30 minutes to enjoy some time with your SO or your kid, or even your dog. So that is the start of your disconnection.
The next part of your disconnection is this: How many things in your life do you understand how they actually work? Your phone, your air conditioner, even your LED flashlight? You know your phone uses apps, but do you have any clue what one actually looks like “under the hood”? You use your map app all of the time, but what makes it work? More disconnection.
The dissonance of conflicting spins of the daily news is another thing that disconnects you. You hear extreme opinions of all stripes, and since there is so much, you don’t have a snowball’s chance of “following the money”. So because of so much information you actually end up with low information because it all conflicts with itself.
There are lots of things that I haven’t touched on, but this is already too long. But when we are this disconnected, does killing someone over their opinion or the color of their skin seem that far-fetched? Do you really believe that Gun Control will make a difference without doing the other hard things that need to be done?