Let's pull no punches; America is simply gun crazy. The "Land of the free and the home of the brave" is now in a state of crisis, with paranoia spreading throughout this society.
What might Theodore Roosevelt, one of the greatest American presidents, do relative to this epidemic of mass shootings? This giant of history would shake the foundations of this government as he condemned these cowardly domestic terrorist attacks; he would demand that this Congress work night and day to come up with solutions.
He would, no doubt, hold closed door sessions with key members of Congress and give them a deadline by which to develop and enact the strongest possible legislation to close every known loophole; to ban assault weapons, and to create a comprehensive system of background checks. He would be relentless. And for those who dared to take part in, or obstruct these efforts, they would wish that they had never chosen to run for political office.
If, in past decades, some visionary had predicted what America would be like some 30 years later, with mass shootings becoming commonplace, we would have said that he or she should be committed to the nearest asylum.
How can the leaders of America continue to claim that this country is exceptional and indispensable in the world when they don't have the will and conviction to deal with this epidemic of mass shootings? Exceptional? Well, what's going on is more descriptive of some "Third world country."
As Americans continue to kill each other in great numbers, who should be assigned the greatest blame, this government, the gun industry, the NRA, or this society and its people? There is no question that each has contributed in various ways to allow this horrific problem to escalate to this degree and, therefore, must accept a good portion of the blame and the guilt
But the greatest blame lies with this government, from the president to the Congress, who should be working non-stop to come up with the solutions necessary to bring this problem under control. They are good at sounding the alarms about the rising tide of world terrorism that poses a threat to America but they don't seem to comprehend that the greatest threat that this country faces comes not from foreign terrorists but from within this society itself.
Michael Payne
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