End the NRA dogmatic frenzy

“…the underlying thrust of [John Locke’s] logic [regarding “philosophical foundations for government by consent of the governed”] has been supremely vindicated by the non-violent lineage of Thoreau, Gandhi, King and Mandela - a lineage that stands directly opposite to the gun-crazed vision of the NRA.” (my inserted brackets) Locke and unload: Why the NRA doesn’t understand rights, Paul Rosenburg - http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/12/20121226104857715225.html

This editorial in Aljazeera’s Opinion section hits the nail precisely on the head. Uncock your hammers, NRA locos, set them on “safety” and put down those pieces of weaponry. If we wait for the guns to be pried from your cold, dead hands, we’ll all be dead and your grip will loosen in the slumber of eternal, wasteful foolishness. We won’t have peace until we begin to understand what it is we’re truly deliberating right now.

Savage barbarians who blindly affirm the creed of “an eye for an eye” not only leave themselves blind, they endanger the life, liberty and happiness of their fellow compatriots. Self-defense by the gun leaves an extremely dangerous amount of life-taking, injury-inflicting power in the hands of too many who are ignorant of meaningful societal contracts. We helped build up this nation, this American government, in order to be free from violence and lawless revenge. We maintain it in order to be safe from the mentally unstable who find ways to be armed.

Obviously, we need more intrinsic care and preventative measures in place to handle those members of our society who need the help to recover their sanity. We need more responsibility demonstrated by gun owners who are in their right minds by turning in those guns, especially the assault-style weapons, at gun buy-backs or to the local authorities. We need more politicians who have spines and principles to stand up to this madness and pass stringent, all-encompassing gun laws WITH clear, verifiable enforcement mechanisms.

And we all need to sit down with our children and discuss openly the culture of guns and violence worship in America. It not all right for our culture to propagate violence in video games, music, movies, etc. We must instill a respect in our kids for all living things, for diversity in humanity and for life experience that values, above all, life itself as a precious, fleeting gift. We must treasure their future by changing our present. We must stop the chaos and focus our national dialogue on affirmative change. This is how we can be secure and secure their promising future.