In the wake of the horror of little kids being gunned down,
there’s considerable talk about stricter gun laws; particularly assault type
guns and large capacity clips. And there
is and will continue to be the same old debates about the effectiveness of gun
control laws. “Guns don’t kill people….”
“If people don’t have access to guns….” And when the emotion of this last shooting
subsides we will be back to pretty much where we are now.
Of course, we all know deep down that guns and gun control
legislation really are not the problem or the solution. (Prohibition did not stop bootlegging and
drug laws have not reduced the use of drugs.)
If human beings behaved with love and respect towards each other, there would
be no need to control or regulate the sale and ownership of guns. Why were there not shootings in schools back
in the 50s? Even the rowdiest teenager
in the 50s would never think to kill somebody.
That’s not to say there wasn't violence; that there weren't terrible
crimes committed. There were plenty of
people killed with guns. But when a
racist bombs a church, or a gangster eliminates his competition, a person can
at least follow the reasoning; faulty as it may be. To shoot people in a theater or students on a
campus or babies in an elementary school is not rational. This is the work of a twisted mind.
And that brings us to the point. The point no one wants to address. Because it means we have to change ourselves
instead of trying to force others to change.
Why didn't Wally Cleaver’s friend Eddie commit heinous crimes? Why was Elvis censored only for wearing blue
suede shoes? Perhaps because forty,
fifty, sixty years ago we were better people.
On the whole, we believed we had a corporate responsibility to raise
kids to be good citizens. This meant
watching out for the neighbors kids besides just your own. School principals were expected to handle
discipline problems so the school could function as a place of learning rather
than a war zone. If an adult saw a young
person doing something dangerous or wrong, he did something about it instead of
“minding his own business”. If a boy was
caught stealing candy from the dime store, more than likely the manager would
call the boy’s parents instead of the cops.
And that worked because the parents would have addressed the issue.
So many people are afraid to define what is right; to
proclaim a difference between good and evil.
That’s why the old movies - white hat, black hat - seem so fake to us
today. As though the characters weren't real. They weren't! They were only images of right and wrong. A portrayal of what a better world would look
like. There was a belief that we were,
and should be, trying to make the world a better place. And we were each to do our part.
You can pass all the gun laws you want. Until we really want to be moral it will matter
not. Until we are willing to accept that
we are not as good as we used to be - until we believe we can be that good
again -there will be more shootings.
There will be more chaos. There
will be the wringing of hands and the gnashing of teeth.
