Tags
Covenant School Shooting March 2023, Gun Rights in the USA, Mass shootings in the USA, Weapon of Mass Destruction
What does it say about us as a nation where the right to own a weapon of mass destruction is more sacred than life itself?
Thought for Today: Weapon of Mass Destruction
02 Sunday Apr 2023
Posted in Human Behavior, Save Our Children, United States, Urban Violence
Three Worlds One Vision 
Implosion inevitable
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Powerful insight, Derrick. How blind we are to our own folly!
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It says all common sense has left the building.
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It has, indeed, Bridget!
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Whatever it says, it’s certainly not good. The tragedy is one thing. I find Washington’s inability to come together and talk about real solutions even more appalling. So very sad.
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You’re so right, Brian. We the people are trapped in a deep hole of our own making.
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I think humans have been brainwashed into following and voting for an elite who have only selfish aims!
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Ashley, I don’t know who else has to die for us to wake up to reality.
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I am glad in the UK, we have laws in place so we cannot own guns.
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Diana, such a day is a long way off for us who hold firm to the belief that “a well regulated Militia [is] necessary to the security of a free State” (Amendment II of the USA Constitution).
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It says the U.S. (my country) is a very sick country. The majority of its citizens are probably good people, but a powerful minority (Republican “leaders,” gun manufacturers, far-right media, etc.) feel profits and gun “rights” are more important than people’s lives. Sick.
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I agree, Dave. Mass shootings are symptomatic of a serious societal disease. Tragically, we are unable to agree on the cause(s) of the infection and the most effective form of treatment.
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AND not just in the USA but in so much of the world. Possibly, humans are suffering some sort of mental illness, a virus of the brain, generated in the poisoned air or water.
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Ashley, our behavior does, indeed, show signs of some sort of mental illness, but I attribute it to a breakdown within our society and not environmental causes.
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I will never understand! Even though I’ve thought about it a lot. Yes, there’s the collector’s instinct and the bravado, there’s macho posturing and of course there’s standard equipment for the real criminals. But what drives the other 98% to do it?
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I wish I knew the answer, Friedrich. I believe that fear is at play, but its nature evades me. Fear of who or what?
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I just checked:
USA: There are more firearms than citizens in the USA, 120 guns per 100 people.
Austria: In 2020, around 1.13 million firearms and around 320,000 gun owners were registered in the central gun register in Austria.
This means that every 7th person in my country owns a firearm. However, many of them are hunters. But the trend is also increasing for us.
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Thanks for sharing the statistics, Friedrich. Very damning, indeed.
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It makes no sense at all. I saw an interesting juxtaposition on The Problem with Jon Stewart yesterday. He pointed out that in Michigan you will be arrested if you carry an open beer, but not if you carry an AR-15 slung over your back. That is real messed up. Paranoia tends to lead to the things we fear most happening. Fingers crossed for humanity. Allan
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Allan, it makes no sense to me, too. A simple traffic offense could also get one killed by trigger-happy police officers.
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🖤🖤🖤
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As someone not from the US it is really difficult to understand how the statue of David is wrong but an assault rifle is necessary. Maggie
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I know, Maggie. I couldn’t believe it when I read the news about the masterpiece. It’s a crazy world!
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It says that the nice people, who will always be a majority in the USA, need to stop being so nice, and to get organised. Unity is strength, peaceful strength.
AND DO SOMETHING !!!
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John, people are working everywhere across the USA to bring about change. Sad to say, the gun lobbyists are very powerful at all levels within our government.
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Safe Schools needs a sponsor to counter the gun lobby. Oprah?
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A great suggestion, Rebecca! In this case, we would need a powerful cisgender male voice. Perhaps, an NRA spokesman who has finally seen the light.
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That would be an excellent idea. Have someone in mind?
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Former chief of staff Joshua Powell broke ranks with the NRA in 2020 and is publishing a book.
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Sounds like a book worth reading.
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Okay, maybe not. He has a troubled financial history. Perhaps a Hollywood deer hunter instead.
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It is both desperately sad and a failure at multiple levels of human and institutional agency. Any attempt to characterize it with a simple answer must fail. We fear for our children and grandchildren, but what do we do? For most of us who decry the horror, we weep or rage, then turn away and do nothing but hope the scourge never reaches our home.
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You put it so well, Dr. Stein. It is, for sure, a very complex issue. I also live in hope that my sons and I will be spared such a terrifying experience.
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In far too many ways, ours is a sick society.
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I think this is what it all boils down to, unfortunately 😔
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Unfortunately true, Patti 😦
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I agree, Neil. Moreover, I believe that it’s a hereditary and terminal sickness without an acceptable effective treatment.
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And yet… there are so many kind, intentional, thoughtful, far-thinking human beings out there… I will truly never understand the paradoxes of the human race…
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Same here, Patti. I believe that the good within us keeps our societies moving forward.
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💕💕💕💕💕🙏
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And it all keeps going in circles of destruction
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A perfect description, Claire! Very much like the Ouroboros.
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It says so much and not enough about those people who do not agree with the law as it stands. A law that hopefully will be changed for ultimately, hope is that which propels us forward in a world fraught with turmoil throughout history. The loss of life such as these can never be justified but will bring about much needed change, a change reflective of many and a change that may be slow in coming but will continue to be sought by those who will make a difference.
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Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts, Renee. Change is, indeed, slow in coming, but we have to continue the struggle for more effective laws for the sake of our children and all of our society.
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When the love for guns exceeds our love for our children and teachers, there is no use trying to change minds or to initiate new actions, for anything and everything will be seen as an attack against that love. It really isn’t love, it is something dark and unhealthy, rooted in deep fear, based on generational lies being told about “others” and the need to protect themselves from the fears they have lived with for so long. If they were prolife, as they claim, they would be willing to do something about it. Unfortunately they have been lied to so much and for so many years, the deep damage had been done. Their fears rule them more strongly than love or compassion ever could.
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Tamara, thanks for sharing your insightful thoughts of how we’ve got here as a nation. I’ve come to believe that fear is at play here, but have had no understanding/appreciation of how deep and longstanding this fear truly is. This suggests that some entity is keeping this fear alive across generations for its own nefarious purpose.
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Yes, there are many vested financial interests in keeping the fear alive, for they have found it is the best way to manipulate their followers to keep electing them and to keep buying their ammo, guns and “end of the world” products. It is the playback of many in power, divide the people against one another through lies and fear tactics, then rule in the chaos. It is far more important for them to keep getting re-elected and for their companies to flourish than it is to have peace. Always.
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What’s more, for us to survive within the chaos, we are driven to obtain guns for own self-protection.
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That’s not a thought I subscribe to, for I feel it is part of the web of lies that has been created. The biggest lies divide us and tell us the other side is the enemy, when in fact there is not the enemy they wish us to believe.
I physically cannot stand holding a gun, and the thought of pulling the trigger against a fellow being turns my stomach. I would not make a good soldier. If I were to find myself in a zone of conflict, like what is going on in Ukraine, I would be one of the support people.
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I also don’t own a gun.
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I wholeheartedly agree with you, Rosaliene! It is disgusting that people have such perverted values!
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It’s very difficult to fathom, Cheryl.
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As long as there’s no control of guns, there will always be situations like these! MTSRIP!
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Our sad and tragic reality here in the USA, Zet Ar 😦
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My heart breaks, those beautiful lives that now have no opportunity to unfold. What species does this to itself? A mad one.
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It breaks my heart, too, Kate. We know not the depth of our madness.
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O god Rosa, month and month after, we hear this news from the US and it is so inhuman of the authorities to let it go on helplessly.
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I couldn’t agree more, Narayan. Those who revel in darkness are unable to see their folly.
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I can’t wrap my head around how weapons are more important than human lives… Weapons are legal in my country, but retrieving one is a long process that would deter ordinary people. There’s always a way to obtain illegal ones, but they are costly and dangerous. We don’t play with weapons where I come from—neither should any nation.
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Bahanur, thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. The millions among us who long for gun control also look forward to the day when we and our loved ones can navigate public spaces without becoming the victim of yet another mass shooting.
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I consider the worship of weapons as idolatry.
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And so it is, Swabby. The God of War demands no less.
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It’s just heartbreaking. And what does it say about our country when we have legislators walking around wearing AR-15 pins?
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Ken, there’s that, too. I imagine that such behavior must make our enemies worldwide very uneasy.
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We are destroying ourselves, child by child. It is disgusting to witness. I am disgusted by those who are so weak and fearful that they only feel powerful when holding a gun, especially the adults who pass this pathology on to their children and give them access to guns in the home. Legislators who support this are responsible for mass murder, over and over again, and they clearly don’t care. Guns are more important to them then children. Our country is a gun mad disgrace.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cindy. The legislators who continue to fail us lack the integrity to do what is right to protect the lives of their constituents.
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Excellent question. It says our priorities where guns are concerned are really screwed up.
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It sure does, JoAnna.
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I got to thinking about the word, sacred, and looked it up. “connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.” In the strict definition of sacred, I don’t think the right to own a weapon of mass destruction is sacred. But some people think it is sacred, so it’s legal in most places. It’s still and important question, Rosaliene. Thank you for asking it and the photos of those who were killed.
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You’re welcome, JoAnna. The following article reveals the extremism of some ‘patriots’ among us: “Gun Church That Worships with AR-15s Bought a 40-Acre Compound in Texas for Its ‘Patriots'” by Tess Owen, Vice News, May 27, 2021.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3dp8j/gun-church-that-worships-with-ar-15s-bought-a-40-acre-compound-in-texas-for-its-patriots
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Creepy – like something I don’t want to look at but need to be aware of.
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I found it very disturbing when I first read the article.
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It is very disturbing.
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This breaks me! Dear God we need help
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We do, indeed!
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https://www.newsweek.com/charlie-kirk-says-gun-deaths-worth-it-2nd-amendment-1793113
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Thanks for sharing the link to the article, Don. I’m speechless. I’ll need time to process such insensitivity.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts!.. the politicians are simply sounding the voice of the people they represent, so it will be up to the people to make changes, in a patient, knowledgeable manner exercising wisdom..though it may not be making headlines, believe that change is in the process with people using today’s technology… what is making the headlines are those desperate people who are trying do deny change… 🙂
I gather more happiness and can do more things with the pen than the gun so there are no guns in my world… 🙂
Hope all is well, you and yours are safe with the weather and all, and your life’s path is paved with joy and love and until we meet again..
May your troubles be less
Your blessings be more
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door
(Irish Saying)
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue, Dutch. I agree that changes underway are not making the news.
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