It seems today that special interest groups and public outcries against violence are exponentially increasing. In contrast to these pleas for help, little to nothing is being done. When I was reading the article, "The Talk of the Town," I gained a further understanding of the destruction that firearms and firearm laws (or lack there of) can do.
To the best of my knowledge, the only law of purchasing a firearm is a five day waiting period. The idea behind this is to let some one's rage subside of over the waiting period. To some degree that is effective. However, there is nothing stopping a person from using that firearm for further violence. Since the nineteen sixties, the United States has claimed half of the top 14 worst mass shootings of the Western democracies. The government response to this: nothing.
In 1996 a gunman claimed the lives of 17 people at a school in Dunblane, Scotland. The government response: increase firearm control and ban the firearms that resembled the ones chosen for the murders. The point that I am trying to make with these two contrasting examples is that our elected officials are doing almost nothing in comparison to our easterly neighbors.
A point that I would like to make that was not mentioned in the article, but would be beneficial for others to understand is the concept of greedy politicians. The reason why very little firearm progress gets made is because firearm companies and retailers make a considerable amount of money from their death dealing businesses. These companies feel the need to bribe politicians into voting against firearm control laws so they can still have the same profits (relatively). Something that I believe in is that just because we are the home of the free, the brave should not be afraid of the coward behind a firearm.
The last bit that the reading included was something of what I strongly thought was referring to the 9/11 attacks. It talked more about how our elected officials assure us that everything is O.K. and that things are being taken care of. Both of the articles had different subjects, but depending how one looks at it, they have very similar points. The common point that I found was that America is a great nation that has a lot to offer; however, we are not living up to our potential, we still have much to work on to become who we think we are.
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I really like the point you make about politicians having their views on gun control influenced by special interest groups such as gun dealers. This is an astute point, and one worth pointing out.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Zach-- keep it rolling. If you haven't already, check out the blogroll in the class resources. This will allow you to check out what other people in our class have been writing.
Great work on this response. It was short but very to the point. Any ideas on how to get the government to actually DO something instead of nothing? There are ways to reduce shootings, but there seems to be little movement for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful you pointed out the part about politicians and greed. Lately, this has been even more prominent on the news, and I'm sick of it. It's nice to know some people are smart enough to realize it though.
Also, I loved the last line you wrote, "we still have much to work on to become who we think we are." This is very true. While I love my country, I'm not going to sit here, ignore our problems, and claim that America is the greatest thing since, well, the last greatest thing.
Once again, good work!