"We forget the principle of non-violence, which is the essence of all religions. The doctrine of arms stands for irreligion." -'Satyagraha - Not Passive Resistance' (H.), Ramchandra Varma, Mahatma Gandhi, about 2 September 1917 (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edited by Raghavan Iyer)
I am no saint. I grew up playing Cowboys and Indians (the Native American kind) with plastic guns. I owned plastic armies of men and tanks. I have played video games where gun mayhem was the chief objective.
As a boy, I went to a summer camp with a shooting range. I enjoyed target shooting and was pretty good at it. My father hunted game birds with a shotgun and bought me a gun and took me on a number of hunting outings. I never shot anything, although, I would have if the opportunity had ever arisen. In the Air Force, I was trained to shoot an M-16 rifle. I was a very good shot and received a Marksman's ribbon.
I am not squeamish about guns, although, I don't own any. And while I cannot conceive of any reason why someone would feel they needed to own a gun, I have no desire to tell someone that they cannot own a gun.
A new law was recently passed in one state (Iowa) of the United States. The law makes it permissible to carry a gun out in the open. In fact, in the United States, only seven states do not permit some level of 'open carry.' In twelve states, there is no licensing or permit needed to carry a gun in the open. The only restriction are to criminals and the mentally ill. Many Americans think this makes them safer.
We have a saying in this country, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." This is certainly true, however, guns make it much, much, much easier. An impulsive act, a fit of anger, a strange thought, a slight misjudgment, can lead almost instantly to someone's death if a gun is strapped to a hip or on the seat of a car.
Yes, people can be stabbed with a knife, but this act has to be up close and personal. It takes time to stab someone. Even in a crowd. Not so a gun.
Bang, bang, bang. Three dead. One second.
Hope there were no innocent bystanders.
I just can't see Jesus "packin' heat."
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
02 April 2011
25 March 2011
The Least of These
"Every sin is a form of violence."- 'Problem of Non-Violence,' Navajivan, 6 June 1926 (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edited by Raghavan Iyer)
I'm a foster parent.
My state, like many states, is having sever budget issues. Yesterday, I went to my State Capitol to rally and lobby to restore the funds cut from the proposed State Budget for the agency that oversees abused and neglected children. I won't bore you with the details, even if I fully understood them, but suffice it to say, that the proposed cuts would devastate a protection system that is already last in the country in helping children.
I was brushed off by my local state representative, one of the few liberals left in my state's government, and I found out that this representative was actually responsible for writing this section of the proposed budget. She defends the budget by saying how much worse it could be.
I sat down in the halls of government and watched, and prayed, and thought.
Everything in the Capitol Building is over-sized, gilded, hand carved and covered in leather. Twenty foot high ceilings and doors. Marble walls, columns, statuary. Enormous wooden door frames and stair railings. Huge paintings of the important battles for independence. Portraits of every Governor, many of whom have gone on to be President. And gold and bronze gilded everything. The place was designed for fifteen foot high humans who stride like gods through the halls.
I went out onto the grounds of the Capitol and found what the plaque said was a collection of six statues of school children created with funds donated by school children in 1993. "A Tribute to Texas School Children" the plaque was titled. Only four of the statues were there. The base for a fifth was still there, the sixth base was missing.
I wanted to cry.
The giants of the Texas Legislature and the school children of Texas.
"Every sin is a form of violence."
I'm a foster parent.
My state, like many states, is having sever budget issues. Yesterday, I went to my State Capitol to rally and lobby to restore the funds cut from the proposed State Budget for the agency that oversees abused and neglected children. I won't bore you with the details, even if I fully understood them, but suffice it to say, that the proposed cuts would devastate a protection system that is already last in the country in helping children.
I was brushed off by my local state representative, one of the few liberals left in my state's government, and I found out that this representative was actually responsible for writing this section of the proposed budget. She defends the budget by saying how much worse it could be.
I sat down in the halls of government and watched, and prayed, and thought.
Everything in the Capitol Building is over-sized, gilded, hand carved and covered in leather. Twenty foot high ceilings and doors. Marble walls, columns, statuary. Enormous wooden door frames and stair railings. Huge paintings of the important battles for independence. Portraits of every Governor, many of whom have gone on to be President. And gold and bronze gilded everything. The place was designed for fifteen foot high humans who stride like gods through the halls.
I went out onto the grounds of the Capitol and found what the plaque said was a collection of six statues of school children created with funds donated by school children in 1993. "A Tribute to Texas School Children" the plaque was titled. Only four of the statues were there. The base for a fifth was still there, the sixth base was missing.
I wanted to cry.
The giants of the Texas Legislature and the school children of Texas.
"Every sin is a form of violence."
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