Gun Nation

After watching Wayne LaPierre deliver a recent Gate-filled diatribe before a gathering of gun enthusiasts I feel compelled to make a few observations about personal gun ownership, the Second Amendment, individual freedom and liberty, and contemporary American society in general. I know there are many who would disagree with my opinions and conclusions. But that's to be expected. After all, my purpose is simply to express my thoughts and sentiments. Not to proselytize.

I am a gun owner. I know I have a few of them lying about the house somewhere. I bought them many years ago, more as a social impulse than out of any sense of conviction. Many of my co-workers were law enforcement officers who took their gun ownership quite seriously, and buying guns was pretty much the thing to do. Over the years the guns became less and less relevant to me, to the point where they are now less important to me than my screwdrivers and pliers, which I use all the time.

But I am no gun enthusiast. To me a gun is simply a piece of machined metal like any other tool. It's a simple item of utility. While some such items are used to repair and build, the gun is used to kill. And I prefer to live in a world that is building and repairing rather than killing.

Now, you take a look at parts of the world where there is a lot of killing. Places like Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria. What do you find in all these places? Guns. Everywhere there are guns. Anyone in these blighted lands can get guns. And yet, they have no Second Amendment. Obviously these simple tribes people have discovered something that eludes people like LaPierre and the NRA: you don't need a Second Amendment to have guns.

I would hazard the opinion that it is not the Second Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees our freedoms and liberties as a nation. Rather, it is the Constitution itself and all the other amendments which guarantee our rights and liberties as a free people. As well as providing for a society of peace and plenty under law. Without this legal foundation we would simply degenerate into the same sort of armed anarchy that characterizes these other lands.

Because another thing these other lands don't have is a national framework of governance under law that does not proceed out of the barrel of a gun. Which is the sort of society gun enthusiasts aspire to. The profligate individual ownership of weaponry does nothing to guarantee our liberties. It is symptomatic of a punitive and violent social order that threatens the integrity of our governmental institutions and our well-being as United States citizens. Fueled by the steady repetition of lies and myths from the Right about non-existent Black Helicopters and Jackbooted Thugs, the apotheosis of the gun simply has police officers patrolling our own neighborhoods wearing flak jackets and Kevlar helmets, and riding in armored vehicles. The culture of guns has spawned the rise of hundreds of “patriotic militias” of questionable adherence to the very Constitution they all profess to admire, while simultaneously and eagerly plotting the overthrow the self-same nation the Founding Fathers sought to establish.

When I hear someone like LaPierre resoundingly proclaim that he and his adherents have come to “take their country back”, I think to myself, “On the contrary, Wayne. This is your country. You never lost it, because you've been living in it all the time. On the other hand, those who envision the United States as both a nation of peace, plenty, and liberty for all, they want to take their country back.”

Is BP Financing Terrorism

Will someone please remind BP that for every barrel of oil they allow to continue leaking into the Gulf it may be putting yet more money into the pockets of the terrorists? Who are using it to buy yet more weapons of mass destruction. Who are using these to kill our brave sons and fathers in the Middle East.

I mean, I’m just asking. After all, we all know, as we’ve so often been reminded, that we should not be buying oil from the Middle Eastern nations, because they allegedly freely disperse these funds to militant Islamic radicals who kill us, the good guys. Rather, we should be buying our oil from domestic producers, who have only our best interests at heart.

Yet what choice has BP given us, now that it’s chosen to cast our oil upon the waters, rather than into our SUV’s? We have to make up the loss somehow.

So I guess the Middle Eastern baddies will continue to pocket our petro-dollars, at least until BP can clean up the mess it’s made.

When will someone stop being so CC (Corporately Correct) and call the BP disaster what it really is? A clear case of capitalist corporate terrorism!

"Drill, Baby, Drill!"

Lately, I’ve become outraged that the myopic and rabidly right-wing socio-political sector has taken so little punishment for its earlier and oft-quoted cry for irresponsible, runaway corporate greed as embodied in its aggressive demand to “Drill, Baby, Drill!”

Now that same body of near-sighted running dogs for the corporate oligarchs has conveniently forgotten that such blind adherence to a policy of oil at any cost is largely responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, its adherents have sought to make this a test of the Obama administration’s competence to lead the nation, all the while hoping that the rest of us will not take the trouble to notice the blatant hypocrisy implicit in their criticism.

But I think they deserve to get a little more of a spanking than they’ve received up to this point. I think that Keith Olberman should end each of his nightly broadcasts not with a reminder of how many days have passed since BP’s huge debacle started polluting the world, but with a short video clip of Sarah Palin proudly and defiantly chanting “Drill, Baby, Drill!”

The right-wing apologists for corporate carelessness and enviro-terrorism need to be reminded on a regular basis where the blame really lies for the BP fiasco.

They are, after all, a forgetful lot.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

“Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."
- Barack H. Obama
- 44th President of the United States

An Historic Event

Yesterday the American people chose to elect a man of intelligence, insight, vitality, and understanding to be the 44th president of the United States.

They elected Barack Hussein Obama.

The fact that he managed to win the election despite the fact that he bears an unusual name, and despite the fact that his rival was a highly respected war hero, made this a significant event.

The fact that he is the first African-American to ever hold the highest elected office in this nation made this an historic event.

Now, I participated in this event by voting for Barack Obama.

Certainly not because he is a Black man, and because I thought it’d be a nifty thing to do.

No.

I voted for Barack Obama because he addressed the American people in nuanced, thoughtful terms. He presumed that the voters are informed adults, who think of the issues facing this nation in a serious, perceptive, reasoned manner. This it is that convinced me that I want Obama as the Chief Executive.

From his rival I heard only simplistic platitudes, interspersed with a large amount of unreasonable panic and fear mongering. Obama’s rival spoke to the American people as though they are an ignorant, unreasoning mass, who are either incapable of understanding the issues, or who choose to give little thought to them.

I believe that Obama will seek out the advice and counsel of learned people; that he will act in a decisive manner after giving serious thought to the consequences of his decisions. And that the other countries of the globe will once again regard this nation as a land of truth and justice.

Race had nothing to do with the way I cast my vote. Barack Obama was simply the better candidate in terms of his intelligence, judgment, principles, and moral stance.

Vote!

Vote your conscience.

Vote for Barack Obama.

Wow.

After watching Obama’s half-hour spot on TV last night I thought to myself, “Who in their right mind would not vote for this man?” As a mere commercial it was impressive. As a piece of politicking it was absolutely astonishing.

Obama hit all the right notes from the very beginning: the waving fields of grain, the smiling children, the old veterans waving at the crowd. In these few powerful images Obama showed us America.

Then he set forth what he regards as the problems facing this country, interspersed with the stories of typical families beset by these problems. Between each story he clearly told us what he would do as president to address and resolve them.

Obama ended all this by reiterating his faith in the American people to surmount these challenges.

“In six days, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future. In six days, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. In six days, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history."

These are beautiful, powerful words. For me they say it all. From the other camp I hear nothing except why we should be fearful. I hear nothing about unity and hope for the future.

Yes, yes. I’ve heard all the objections about boilerplate phrases and packaging over substance. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this was never presented as anything more than a political commercial. And it’s a damn good one at that! It wasn’t intended as a State of the Union address.

And for once a candidate did exactly what people claim they want to see in a political ad. He spoke clearly about the issues and what he intends to do to address them if elected to office.

Astonishingly, not once did I hear an attack on his rival. Which, when you think about it, was attack enough.

And unlike many who express open hostility toward Barack Obama I believe there is substance behind the image. It is the reality of a thoughtful, intelligent, deliberative yet decisive individual.

It is the reality of the person the American people need in the White House at this time.

Today on NPR I heard a reporter state that much of the success of the Obama campaign is due to the almost “friction-free” quality of his campaign organization. Despite the huge sums it has raised its spending has been incredibly efficient. I guess Obama’s experience as a community organizer stood him in good stead.

This is the kind of intelligent organizational experience I want to see in the White House. I couldn’t give a damn that he’s never been a mayor of some moose-butt burg, or the governor of a state with less people than most big suburbs.

That’s why I’m voting for Barack Obama on November 4th.