Whether or not the uniquely horrifying details of this latest
massacre will be enough to break the National Rifle Association's suffocating
muzzle on any rational discussion about guns remains to be seen. And that, as
much as the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary School, speaks volumes about the
perverse state of our national debate about guns.
The operative
words here are "suffocating muzzle" - creating a state of suspicion
where education about gun violence in this country is out of the question.
Of course, gun control is perhaps the most
rabid of recent U.S. paranoias and serves to encapsulate just how far paranoia
can go - and how much political clout it can obtain.
"A heinous act of mass murder--either by terrorists or by some
psychotic who should have been locked up long ago--will be the pretext to
unleash a tsunami of gun control."
"Responsible Americans realize that the world as we know it
has changed," he wrote. "After Hurricane Sandy, we saw the hellish
world that the gun prohibitionists see as their utopia. Looters ran wild in south
Brooklyn. There was no food, water or electricity. And if you wanted to walk
several miles to get supplies, you better get back before dark, or you might
not get home at all."
"With four more years of Obama, your firearms freedoms are gone.
And we'll spend the rest of our lives mourning the freedoms we've lost" Every
freedom we cherish as Americans is endangered by Obama. Life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness."
And while LaPierre has been roundly criticized
for his stance that more guns should be on the streets and in the hands of
Americans, the paranoia he feeds upon has escalated, not abated. In sense, it
has been fed and continues to be fed by all forms of right-wing media and even
pulpits: Pastor Gary Cass jumped into the fray with his statement, "You
can't be a Christian and not own a gun."
A Compilation Of The Paranoid Style
U.S.
paranoia has reached its zenith with the Christian Right against so many
things: from Obama being the Anti-Christ to Pokemon. Yes, Pokemon.
"To gain the competitive edge, a trainer must use magic potions to
heal and strengthen his Pokmon, and wear magic badges to control the stronger
Pokmon. In addition, the really powerful Pokmon have psychic powers and can
throw curses. This bears disturbing similarities to witchcraft."
"President Obama is not the Antichrist. But what I am saying is
this: the course he is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the
future reign of the Antichrist."
Chuck
Norris and Pat Robertson:
"...a legion of demons would be unleashed to wreak havoc on society and help enact his evil socialist agenda, destroying all that is good and free."
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