Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Some Thoughts on Guns
When I was in elementary school I once put down Warrior as what I wanted to be when I grew up. Influenced by movies like Star Wars, The Karate Kid, and Top Gun, I was an unstoppable Jedi blackbelt fighter pilot ready to save the world from evil forces. And of course, guns were vital to my way of life. Finger guns, toy guns, rubber band guns... I was always prepared for a show down at high noon, to repel invading alien forces, or for rescue missions to extract POW's. Bring it on.
But that was then. I'm all grown up now. I never got recruited by GI Joe. I never became the reluctant hero of a revolution. I've never even played laser tag or paintball. And I've never had a desire to own a gun. In fact, I'm afraid of guns. They make me nervous. The only time I ever fired a gun, I was worried I might accidentally shoot myself or someone around me. Or that the people around me at the time might accidentally shoot me. I don't want to be around guns.
Despite my fears, I don't believe guns are the problem. The problem is that there are stupid and crazy people out there that do stupid and crazy things. And the ones with the guns are the ones that get all the attention. There are drunk drivers out there. There are unscrupulous doctors.There are drug dealers. There are serial killers. There are girl scouts peddling sugar filled cookies slowly killing people door to door through obesity.
Instead of wasting time and money on this gun debate, why not improve education and mental health services? Educated people know how to handle guns properly. And the benefits of education go way beyond gun control. Having a better system to identify and cure mental health issues can keep guns out of the hands of people who might snap. These are the places where we need to focus.
Make guns illegal? Repeal the second amendment? Pipe dreams. The gun "problem" is merely a symptom of the horrendous state of our education system.
But that was then. I'm all grown up now. I never got recruited by GI Joe. I never became the reluctant hero of a revolution. I've never even played laser tag or paintball. And I've never had a desire to own a gun. In fact, I'm afraid of guns. They make me nervous. The only time I ever fired a gun, I was worried I might accidentally shoot myself or someone around me. Or that the people around me at the time might accidentally shoot me. I don't want to be around guns.
Despite my fears, I don't believe guns are the problem. The problem is that there are stupid and crazy people out there that do stupid and crazy things. And the ones with the guns are the ones that get all the attention. There are drunk drivers out there. There are unscrupulous doctors.There are drug dealers. There are serial killers. There are girl scouts peddling sugar filled cookies slowly killing people door to door through obesity.
Instead of wasting time and money on this gun debate, why not improve education and mental health services? Educated people know how to handle guns properly. And the benefits of education go way beyond gun control. Having a better system to identify and cure mental health issues can keep guns out of the hands of people who might snap. These are the places where we need to focus.
Make guns illegal? Repeal the second amendment? Pipe dreams. The gun "problem" is merely a symptom of the horrendous state of our education system.
