I just don’t get it. I realize it’s a flaw in our democracy in the US but to have more guns than we have citizens is fucking ridiculous. We have school shootings on a regular basis (this week it was in Texas) and 50 people (Republican senators) block any attempts at new legislation because they are afraid their constituents will kick them out of office. Some of the articles I read and the diatribes I listen to suggest that the vast majority of Americans want better laws governing gun safety and access to guns. Yet 50 senators refuse. Kudos to Steve Kerr of the NBAs Golden State Warriors.
We are the only country that seems to value gun laws more than schoolchildren. We have indiscriminate shootings almost every week. Some conservatives say that there’s no way to prevent this, yet we are the only country where it regularly happens. People get sad, they get angry, yet nothing happens.
Honestly it makes me frustrated, because I don’t know what to do about it. I can do my darndest to help elect people to government with the sense to address the issue, but I feel helpless otherwise. More than helpless, I am embarassed. My many friends in other countries (including my own daughter) think there is something terribly wrong with the USA. Honestly, they are probably right….
Guns and gun laws may just be one symptom of the cultural decline and division here now. Donald Trump was and is a symbol of this, but he’s not the cause of it. He gave many people “permission” to act like complete assholes. He put some of those people in positions of power and now we fight over gun laws, abortion rights, immigration, books in schools, racism, voting rights.
I would run for office if I thought it would help. I just don’t have enough faith in our system of democracy any more. Time for a drink and to rebuild my optimism.
mikesteinharter.com 