Thank you for putting these avoidable tragedies in broader contexts. Another aspect of gun violence is laxity in keeping violent criminals off the street. There is at least one case in AR of someone convicted of attempted murder who made bail and proceeded to shoot and kill a young man.
We Americans have very short term memories. We get outraged when there is a school shooting, grieve for those that lost their lives and for those families that lost loved ones, say we are going to make a change this time that these shootings can't continue. Then after a few days we forget and move on, unless it actually effected us on a personal level. This pattern is on replay, over and over again. I am saddened that we are a country so divided. If we can't come together as a nation to save our children when will we!
Thank you Dan Rather for another thought provoking article!
Spot on. Many Americans are taking the easy way out, sinking into echo chambers, demonizing the "other" and therefore being complicit in a culture of violence. Death is not the worst thing, becoming numb and tossing off the deaths as collateral damage -- what comes with our culture -- is the worst thing.
I am late to this conversation because my Steady email got sorted to junk without my knowledge. So I don't know if anyone will read this now, but I'll say it anyway.
There is a lot of talk about needing feet on the ground, needing everybody to do their part and so on to save democracy. I know what that used to look like. Protests, large gatherings of people in one place standing for what they believe in. It looks like letters to politicians letting them know what we expect as voters, as citizens.
But I am left with a question about what feet on the ground, doing my part looks like at this particular juncture. It seems to look like making donations to folks actively working to support voting rights, taking stands on social media, and praying for the world, for democracy, for inclusiveness and compassion.
How do we confront those creating the threat to democracy, sustaining it, acting on it? How do we confront it without sinking to the level of harmfulness we are wishing to stand up against? What does that look like?
What I see is that the pandemic and the increasing activity of white supremacists, coupled with the persistent both-sides-ing of the news media at large, render large demonstrations, like the Women's March in 2017, both dangerous and useless. Letters to politicians are preaching to the choir. I also wrote letters to Republicans, called them, not just my own representatives, but anyone who showed any signs of thinking for themselves, still the Republican Senate has marched in lock step toward destruction of democracy. The Republicans don't care what the citizens think or want, clearly. Voter suppression and election take-overs state clearly that silencing the public will is their goal.
What has loomed large since Biden took office is that the filibuster stands in the way of protecting democracy BECAUSE it allows minority rule. But besides the filibuster, the Democrats have two rogue members, so even if the filibuster were demolished, those two could hold the country hostage while the Republicans proceed.
I do not feel hopeless. I have not given up. But clearly reasoning will not get us there. The lies and twisted versions of truth that social media have allowed to become public and ordinary and believed by many, supported by a media claiming fairness but actually profiting from the possible fall of a nation (now THAT will be news!) have taken us past any possibility of reasoned conversation or civil disagreement.
If there are no consequences for those working with and allowing interference from foreign states, for the criminal gerrymandering, for the even more criminal takeover of election results, for those who believe they have the right and obligation to storm the capitol to overturn an election because they don't like the outcome, for police who use a different standard for people of color, for the movement to subjugate women these processes will continue.
Voting rights and free and fair elections are fundamental to assure the executive and legislative branches can be cleansed by voters and restored to their intended functions and balance. Increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court may be necessary to balance the judicial branch at its highest level. Eliminating the filibuster, overturning Citizens United, perhaps ending the electoral college intervention between voters and vote counts, may all be necessary to extricate us from this scourge.
I know lots of folks on this forum agree with all those things. But what is the path? Where is the power that is greater than corruption and violence and hatred and greed? What does that look like with feet on the ground? What does healthy, peaceful, persistent activism look like?
Among us are charismatic stars of movement leaders who are amazing at mobilizing large groups. Most of us are not gifted in that way, and may not have such leaders to connect to directly. What is the feet on the ground aspect for the ordinary person living an ordinary life with limited resources, yet who is willing to support movement toward returning this country to being the inclusive constitutional government, ruled by the majority of voters, for the good of all?
Why is the reality of children killing children not making a huge impact? Have we gown so callous and uncaring that our wounds have scabbed over, turned to scar tissue and can't be accessed anymore? Well, it saddens me terribly every time, and every time I think of how badly we need to deny weapons to At Least children, and provide some mental health guidelines that remove blatantly unstable people with violent thoughts At Least from a school situation. Saddening and sickening to the core.
I agree with the remedy of gun laws and that they should not be available in the home, online, at 'markets'. I also feel that accessible counselors in schools is essential, people who will support those lost children who so desperately need others to care for and love them.
i just keep asking how many more lost futures how more greasing love ones how many lost talents before the federal government and state governments step in and put a stop to this senseless slaughter is stopped with gun legislation. it to me demonstrates THAT STILL NOT ENOUGH OF US HAVE SPOKEN OUT. Shame on us the american public. IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF GUN RIGHTS IT IS A QUESTION OF UNCONTROLLED SLAUGHTER. Shame on us again and again.
My sister called and asked me if I had heard about the 14 year old who was killed. I had to ask her which one -- it has been an awful few weeks to be child. Sad sign of our times.
It occurs to me that everything wrong with this country (and most others) boils down to nothing more than plain old selfishness. If only more of us could see beyond our own meager existences, we'd realize that the sum can be much greater than the whole, and being even a small part of something wonderful is far more than meager.
Thank you, Mr. Dan, for encouraging all of us to do just that.
As a classroom teacher, I cringe every time we hold a mandatory "active shooter" drill because my high school students should not have to deal with the idea that someone can come into our building and threaten us all with a gun. We have to change our culture. The Second Amendment is being misinterpreted to give trigger-happy people the right to own as many guns as they want to buy. Our nation leads the world in gun ownership: 120 guns for every 100 people. That is not supporting the formation of a "well-regulated militia" to keep foreigners out of our national business. Instead, it is allowing a minority of the people in this country to place themselves and their wishes above the rest of us. Less than 30% of our nation controls our politics, and we must effect a shift. Sadly, gerrymandering and other voter suppression methods are making that tougher each day. Let's abolish the filibuster and the electoral college and [re]establish the democratic state that our Founding Fathers tried to set up for us.
I’ve been to many countries where guns are illegal. This problem appears to be emblematic to the US. When will Congress have the chutzpah to make changes to the second amendment? Why are we sacrificing our children to the NRA? Like Neil Young asked after the Ohio shootings by the police in the 70’s, how many more (must die)?
What happened to metal detectors?
Thank you for putting these avoidable tragedies in broader contexts. Another aspect of gun violence is laxity in keeping violent criminals off the street. There is at least one case in AR of someone convicted of attempted murder who made bail and proceeded to shoot and kill a young man.
We Americans have very short term memories. We get outraged when there is a school shooting, grieve for those that lost their lives and for those families that lost loved ones, say we are going to make a change this time that these shootings can't continue. Then after a few days we forget and move on, unless it actually effected us on a personal level. This pattern is on replay, over and over again. I am saddened that we are a country so divided. If we can't come together as a nation to save our children when will we!
Thank you Dan Rather for another thought provoking article!
Once again, thank you Dan! I pray that GOD blesses you to live a long long time!
Spot on. Many Americans are taking the easy way out, sinking into echo chambers, demonizing the "other" and therefore being complicit in a culture of violence. Death is not the worst thing, becoming numb and tossing off the deaths as collateral damage -- what comes with our culture -- is the worst thing.
It did not really hit me until last night when I walked past the local high school and saw the flag hanging at half mast. Again.
I am late to this conversation because my Steady email got sorted to junk without my knowledge. So I don't know if anyone will read this now, but I'll say it anyway.
There is a lot of talk about needing feet on the ground, needing everybody to do their part and so on to save democracy. I know what that used to look like. Protests, large gatherings of people in one place standing for what they believe in. It looks like letters to politicians letting them know what we expect as voters, as citizens.
But I am left with a question about what feet on the ground, doing my part looks like at this particular juncture. It seems to look like making donations to folks actively working to support voting rights, taking stands on social media, and praying for the world, for democracy, for inclusiveness and compassion.
How do we confront those creating the threat to democracy, sustaining it, acting on it? How do we confront it without sinking to the level of harmfulness we are wishing to stand up against? What does that look like?
What I see is that the pandemic and the increasing activity of white supremacists, coupled with the persistent both-sides-ing of the news media at large, render large demonstrations, like the Women's March in 2017, both dangerous and useless. Letters to politicians are preaching to the choir. I also wrote letters to Republicans, called them, not just my own representatives, but anyone who showed any signs of thinking for themselves, still the Republican Senate has marched in lock step toward destruction of democracy. The Republicans don't care what the citizens think or want, clearly. Voter suppression and election take-overs state clearly that silencing the public will is their goal.
What has loomed large since Biden took office is that the filibuster stands in the way of protecting democracy BECAUSE it allows minority rule. But besides the filibuster, the Democrats have two rogue members, so even if the filibuster were demolished, those two could hold the country hostage while the Republicans proceed.
I do not feel hopeless. I have not given up. But clearly reasoning will not get us there. The lies and twisted versions of truth that social media have allowed to become public and ordinary and believed by many, supported by a media claiming fairness but actually profiting from the possible fall of a nation (now THAT will be news!) have taken us past any possibility of reasoned conversation or civil disagreement.
If there are no consequences for those working with and allowing interference from foreign states, for the criminal gerrymandering, for the even more criminal takeover of election results, for those who believe they have the right and obligation to storm the capitol to overturn an election because they don't like the outcome, for police who use a different standard for people of color, for the movement to subjugate women these processes will continue.
Voting rights and free and fair elections are fundamental to assure the executive and legislative branches can be cleansed by voters and restored to their intended functions and balance. Increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court may be necessary to balance the judicial branch at its highest level. Eliminating the filibuster, overturning Citizens United, perhaps ending the electoral college intervention between voters and vote counts, may all be necessary to extricate us from this scourge.
I know lots of folks on this forum agree with all those things. But what is the path? Where is the power that is greater than corruption and violence and hatred and greed? What does that look like with feet on the ground? What does healthy, peaceful, persistent activism look like?
Among us are charismatic stars of movement leaders who are amazing at mobilizing large groups. Most of us are not gifted in that way, and may not have such leaders to connect to directly. What is the feet on the ground aspect for the ordinary person living an ordinary life with limited resources, yet who is willing to support movement toward returning this country to being the inclusive constitutional government, ruled by the majority of voters, for the good of all?
Why is the reality of children killing children not making a huge impact? Have we gown so callous and uncaring that our wounds have scabbed over, turned to scar tissue and can't be accessed anymore? Well, it saddens me terribly every time, and every time I think of how badly we need to deny weapons to At Least children, and provide some mental health guidelines that remove blatantly unstable people with violent thoughts At Least from a school situation. Saddening and sickening to the core.
I agree with the remedy of gun laws and that they should not be available in the home, online, at 'markets'. I also feel that accessible counselors in schools is essential, people who will support those lost children who so desperately need others to care for and love them.
i just keep asking how many more lost futures how more greasing love ones how many lost talents before the federal government and state governments step in and put a stop to this senseless slaughter is stopped with gun legislation. it to me demonstrates THAT STILL NOT ENOUGH OF US HAVE SPOKEN OUT. Shame on us the american public. IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF GUN RIGHTS IT IS A QUESTION OF UNCONTROLLED SLAUGHTER. Shame on us again and again.
My sister called and asked me if I had heard about the 14 year old who was killed. I had to ask her which one -- it has been an awful few weeks to be child. Sad sign of our times.
It occurs to me that everything wrong with this country (and most others) boils down to nothing more than plain old selfishness. If only more of us could see beyond our own meager existences, we'd realize that the sum can be much greater than the whole, and being even a small part of something wonderful is far more than meager.
Thank you, Mr. Dan, for encouraging all of us to do just that.
I am a woman weeping today …
As a classroom teacher, I cringe every time we hold a mandatory "active shooter" drill because my high school students should not have to deal with the idea that someone can come into our building and threaten us all with a gun. We have to change our culture. The Second Amendment is being misinterpreted to give trigger-happy people the right to own as many guns as they want to buy. Our nation leads the world in gun ownership: 120 guns for every 100 people. That is not supporting the formation of a "well-regulated militia" to keep foreigners out of our national business. Instead, it is allowing a minority of the people in this country to place themselves and their wishes above the rest of us. Less than 30% of our nation controls our politics, and we must effect a shift. Sadly, gerrymandering and other voter suppression methods are making that tougher each day. Let's abolish the filibuster and the electoral college and [re]establish the democratic state that our Founding Fathers tried to set up for us.
😢
I’ve been to many countries where guns are illegal. This problem appears to be emblematic to the US. When will Congress have the chutzpah to make changes to the second amendment? Why are we sacrificing our children to the NRA? Like Neil Young asked after the Ohio shootings by the police in the 70’s, how many more (must die)?