Dead kids in Texas
Our violence bites back because hopes and prayers don’t work in a Godless world.
This is what the senator from Texas said right after the massacre in a Texas elementary school this week, according to Reuters:
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said in a statement Tuesday he was “lifting up in prayer the entire Uvalde community during this devastating time.” He also told reporters that he does not see gun control measures as effective in preventing crime.”
Nice pivot there. We are not talking about crime. We are talking about mass shootings. We are talking about dead kids. We are not talking about random murders on Chicago streets. Or indiscriminate shooting of Blacks by rogue police.
In the twisted logic of Republican politics, it takes good guys with guns to stop bad guys with guns. WRONG. Except when the bad guys have bigger guns. And especially when bad guys are on suicide missions, there’s no stopping them. Every mass killing is a form of suicide. Self hate on steroids.
Last week Ted Cruz’s prayers were also lifting up Ukraine, as he voted on a $40 billion arms package to back up his prayer. Included in that package, long range missiles for Ukraine. Spreading lethal weaponry is evangelizing GOP style.
Meanwhile, God angrily rejected all prayers that did not include gun control. But our cynical politicos know that there really is no God. That morality is for the weak. That religion is a panacea to wrap people in innocence.
I choose not to dwell on the violence that props up American exceptionalism. But the sinful actions in our society all start in the voting booth. Share the guilt. Create a God that will absolve you.
Ending gun violence is a complex problem only if you think it’s rooted in the Second Amendment. If we repeal it, we will not end crime, but we will disarm the violent.
While waiting for a great social movement to change the Constitution, let’s do some practical things:
Deal with the fact that mass shooters are alll young men; restart the compulsory draft.
No gun sales to anyone under 21.
Ban the sale, ownership and use of pistols or hand guns.
Use technology to harden schools effectively.
Make it mandatory to report threats broadcast through social media. If you saw it and said nothing, you’re guilty.
Instead of an armed guard in every school, an unarmed psychologist.
Mental health programs starting in the lowest grades to identify those whose profiles scream “possible killer” of self or others.
Multiple points of intervention and mandatory treatment for the mentally ill.
And programs that nip bullying in the bud and other anti-social behaviors aimed at “the other.”
If we can’t afford that, we’ll let’s just send another $40 billion to Ukraine and more billions to export the monster that is us all over the world.
This is Memorial Day, but only for the military. We really need a separate Civilian Memorial Day.