The title of this diary was changed because, although satire of an angry sort, it reflected what I see now was a cavalier attitude. Nevertheless, saying that gun rights and the right to artistic expression are off the table when it comes to discussing guns and violence is deserving of being mocked, imho.
A long time ago, when our ancestors descended from the trees onto the African savannah, the survival of an individual depended on the solidarity of the group; the tribe. The order of importance in the hierarchy, I reiterate, was the tribe first, then the strength of the family unit, and the individual last. Now, in twenty-first century America, this order, through a series of historical and philosophical developments, has been reversed. The individual, as apparently enshrined in our constitution, in part due to some philosophers of the Enlightenment, is foremost, the family (your home is your castle) still holds up the middle, and the community last, excepting for patriotic holidays (“USA, USA, USA”).
Let’s play a game. We know why the shootings in Connecticut took place. A deranged individual could not control his impulses. One working hypothesis, anyway. The question is, rather, what are we to do about it to prevent it’s re-occurrence in the future? If you would like to play along, join us below the creatively colored curlicue.
Here are three simple rules governing this game, and one general guideline.
Number One: No discussion of second amendment issues is allowed. Gun control is off the table.
Number Two: Don’t blame television. The right of artistic expression means violence on television is also off the table.
Number Three: Don’t blame violent video games (see Number Two).
Okay, now here is the one general guideline. Think outside the box. Project forward one hundred years if you will. What do we want our society to look like when we arrive there. Think Brave New World and all. How do we get there? Here are some ideas.
Give everyone drugs.
Make family counseling a condition of citizenship.
Splice skittish rabbit genes into the human genome.
Spend the equivalent of an Apollo Moon Program on mental health initiatives. In the 1960’s that was around 26 billion dollars, so in today’s money say at least 100 billion.
Bring back housing mentally ill persons in institutions.
Population control. Remember the studies in the 1950’s on overcrowding in rats? How they started turning on each other?
Now think of some of your own. Full disclosure: perusal of my profile will reveal I am a member of the three star kossacks, meaning I write from the state of Tennessee. While I am a good thousand miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, my granddaughter, (who is the same age as most of the children who were killed), goes to school ONE BLOCK from a Unitarian church where several years ago there was another mass shooting which made the national news, so the subject is very close to home because it ALREADY HAPPENED HERE.
For those who have difficulty with satire, here is my heart-felt position. Individual rights and freedoms are meaningless when said individual lives in a society which is devolving into lawlessness.
If we can’t talk about about guns and violence when talking about problems related to, well, guns and violence, then let’s hear some fresh ideas. The floor is open.