Yesterday yet another tragedy occurred. And we are all heartbroken, shaken, and angry that this time it was tiny innocent children who were attacked and murdered. And the conversation about strict gun laws again has come to the fore…with the NRA talking heads going on TV to advocate for MORE GUNS…Guns in classrooms…arming teachers. Guns in church, guns in daycare centers. (I'm looking at YOU Michigan)
This morning I heard a Congressman say that the NRA are nothing more than facilitators of mass murder. I agree. The NRA is a dangerous organization. But not in the way a lot of people think…
Lee Fang of the Nation writes today that:
Despite the grassroots facade, there is much evidence to suggest that corporations that profit from unregulated gun use are propping up the NRA’s activities, much like how the tobacco lobby secretly funded “Smokers Rights’” fronts and libertarian anti-tax groups, or how polluters currently finance much of the climate change skepticism movement.
So our children continue pay the price in blood for the MegaCorps profit.
But there is even more than this on my mind this morning. We live in a nation of fear. Fear of the “other”, fear of our neighbors, fear of we don’t know what but the Teapublicans will be sure to tell us.
We have allowed the MegaCorps and their pet politicians to create this culture of fear and violence. Our language is dominated by violence, “War on Poverty”, “War on Drugs”, War on Women”…And speaking of war….from the NY Times;
U.S. Arms Sales Make Up Most of Global Market
The American weapons sales total was an “extraordinary increase” over the $21.4 billion in deals for 2010, the study found, and was the largest single-year sales total in the history of United States arms exports. The previous high was in fiscal year 2009, when American weapons sales overseas totaled nearly $31 billion.
Yes, yes. I know. This includes everything from fighter planes to hand grenades…but they are ALL weapons. And unless and until we get ourselves out of the grip of the MegaCorps who promote violence, murder and war in the persuite of profit, these kinds of tragedies will continue…
And our children and the children of the world will continue to pay in blood for the profit of a few…