WHAT ELSE BUT MADNESS
By Hal O'Leary
My America has gone mad. We have the murder of 20 innocent
children, then a virtual child himself at 15, admittedly addicted to violent
video games, murders his family, the NRA , (with almost half of the public in
agreement, wanting to arm every citizen for protection from the murder of each
other, and now, many of the formerly sensitive and sensible half of our society
are demanding the right to don uniforms with their male counterparts, pick up
automatic weapons and drones to exercise their constitutional right to murder
men, women and children around the world. And, all this in my name. What other
than madness could explain such behavior
since each are acts of murder in every sense of the word.
The very obvious fact that Hollywood finds the dominance of
violence so profitable in their industry, suggests that our society is becoming
addicted to murder. The very obvious fact that our own government can, not only
with immunity, but with public approval, murder, not only suspected foreign
enemies and agents but its own citizens without indictment or trial, suggests
that violence has become the accepted means of resolving disputes, and a way of
life. The very obvious fact that the better half of our society, which has,
heretofore, managed to maintain a respectable sanity, seems desirous of the
opportunity to, not only condone, but to
commit murder in their own right, suggests
that a nation-wide review of the very principles and morality, upon
which this country was founded, is needed to restore sanity.
Now, lest you call me out on the constant use of the word
"murder", please hear me out. The following is a justifiable description of
murder and its consequences as found in Wikipedia.
" Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another person, and
generally this state of mind
distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter).
As the loss of a human being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close
to the victim, and the commission of a murder is highly detrimental to the good
order within society, most societies both present and in antiquity have
considered it a most serious crime worthy of the harshest of punishment. In
most countries, a person convicted of murder is typically given a long prison
sentence, possibly a life sentence where permitted, and in some countries, the death
penalty may be imposed for such an act -- though this practice is becoming less
common. [1] In most countries, there is no statute of
limitations for murder (no time limit for prosecuting someone for murder). A person who commits murder is called a murderer.
In this regard, I imagine you would agree that the first two
examples cited adequately fit this description of murder. There was malice aforethought
which constitutes the following states of mind:
1.
Intent to kill
2.
Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm short of
death.
3.
Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life.
4.
Intent to commit a dangerous felony.
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