A Time for Peace

Discussion about the necessity or advisability of George W Bush's elective Iraqi War has become a news worthy topic again. I am grateful, but wonder why it took so long. Perhaps the large burden paid by a small percentage of the population and the deferral of costs now coming due are salient points.

Sustaining a war effort is difficult in many ways. Among those is the financial burden. Maybe it was the realization that we spent trillions of dollars with little to show for it. For whatever reason, this  this particular chapter in recent American history is being re-examined.

Citizens have the duty to question war-making. It is patriotic in the best sense of the word to question our country's war making efforts, especially when they are being used to gain political advantage. It is now clear to many that the Iraqi war was a multi-dimensional failure. Even if you don't accept the idea that invading Iraq was a strategic failure, it is hard to accept the necessity of unleashing so much death and destruction on hundreds of thousands of innocent people for the purpose of removing a single dictator. American taxpayers were duped accomplices in Bush's Iraqi misadventure. Yet, the silence from the right on this issue is deafening to this day.

Besides devastating human and financial costs, there is another terrible legacy we must confront. Our government lied to us. Bush's people lied deliberately and repeatedly about reasons for the war, torture, and contractor fraud. Some people still in power continue to believe the Bush era lies regarding weapons of mass destruction. Others feel that these particular lies were justifiable in this case due to the evil nature of Saddam. Those lies should never be allowed to stand.

The casualty here is the truth and our own credibility in the world. We started a pre-emptive war based on lies, and continued it for years. Will we be trusted in the future when legitimate threats emerge and we need help?

So what are our priorities? I would hope one would be the explicit aspiration to achieve a real and lasting peace. It is long past time to embrace a peace first mentality. This is hard given the combative nature of our political processes. Our national tolerance of incarceration driven by for-profit prison growth and the celebration of gun culture are sad commentaries on our national priorities. 

It is also long past time to rebuild our decaying infrastructure & put ourselves back to work. We need to refocus on education, clean energy and affordable health care. It would serve us well to disarm and take care of people first. A decade of War is a decade wasted in so many ways. We can do better. We need to try harder to create the Peace we all crave.

Let's enact rational gun ownership reform now!

The day of reckoning has finally come. When innocent men, women, and children are regularly gunned down in our shopping malls, schools and places of worship, something must be done. Gun violence in this country must be stopped for the protection of the most basic right we all must defend: the right to life itself. It’s time to transform our ideas about gun ownership from dystopic fantasy to righteous pragmatism.

In the minds of some, ownership of a firearm is sacrosanct and uniquely defines what it means to be an American. This notion is not universally held, but those who believe it have shut down both debate and any meaningful policy response to related bloodshed. Our problem is not just about the idea of gun ownership. It’s about unregulated, unlimited ownership of the ability to kill large amounts of innocent people.  As a society we need to act smartly and decisively to protect ourselves and our children.

The time has long since passed for more effective, stringent gun control.  The question is how we can effectively remove the threat of innocents being murdered by nefarious, angry, or crazy people with unchecked access to efficient deadly force. Alarmingly, we still hear the argument made that any limitation on ownership of firearms should be considered a threat on civil liberties.

There are some basic questions we should be asking ourselves. Should American society be defined by our citizens’ ability to kill each other? Should Americans who choose not to arm themselves or  who can’t arm themselves have their rights protected by the rule of law? Is it time to separate gun safety education from gun advocacy and gun manufacture lobbying?

America’s love affair with guns must seem strange to other civilized affluent democratic societies. For over 20 years we have allowed unregulated gun ownership and gun deaths to proliferate unchecked. We have failed to effectively deal with an explosion of gun ownership and gun-related death. This phenomenon is uniquely American. It is a shameful chapter in our history

There are many legitimate, practical measures that can and must be taken to limit access to assault rifles and similar guns as soon as possible. This needs to happen even if it means profit-killing regulations for US gun manufacturers and even if it means some weapons and ammunition will be impossible for enthusiasts, hobbyists, and self-styled defenders of freedom to own.

The time for soul searching has come. Those who own guns should consider how many and for what purposes. Keeping guns out of public places should be the norm. We can learn much from the rest of the world. Our unique first place status in gun manufacture, ownership and violent death demonstrate our gun depravity and illustrate our need to grow up as a country. We should study what works elsewhere and apply it in the US. How about abandoning America the murderous for America the beautiful?

Disarming completely is an option to be considered seriously by individuals. The love of guns has become a uniquely American obsession. This tragic obsession is killing too many of us. We can do something about it. Let’s at least try.