Soapbox

With the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut last week it is hard to not want to just lose faith in humanity. To throw in the towel and give in to the notion that we as a people have lost our moral compass with no means to find true north. It also sparks many discussions around how can this happen, what can we do to prevent it, and all the political trappings that surround how government should intervene.  I think we can all agree that the answer is not singular, it is plural, and is not an answer that is going to have some quantifiable and calculated solution after an equals sign.

The situation in Connecticut is the small mass of the iceberg, jutting out of the water, that we collided with, and then realize that what we can see is just a small percentage of the mass lurking below. If we just chip away at the iceberg, repair and right the ship, we are just ignoring this larger threat that can rise up again and either collide with us again, or harm the next vessel venturing out to open sea.  Like an iceberg, this is complex, it is larger than us, and has unfortunately become part of the landscape we must survive with. We can build stronger ships, better technology, more intelligent surveillance, but the issue is that this problem is beyond the comprehension of science. Science makes sense, it operates on logic, it is measurable, data driven, and can be tested and verified. What we are dealing with has none of these boundaries of reason.  We are dealing with humans.

The mind is a powerful tool, often thought to be the most complex entity on earth, but what do we do to take care of it? Protect it? Keep it healthy?  I do think it says something about our society that we will treat infections with antibiotics to the point that we are becoming immune, we will work to prevent pain so aggressively that we end up with a large population of addicts, we have billions pouring into cancer research but still have individuals purposefully ingesting and exposing themselves to carcinogens, but yet a majority of the population have an aversion to mental health. It is not accepted by the majority to be a priority in healthcare, and it is socially stigmatized to be for the weak, the inept, and the uneducated. It is hidden from friends, families, and co-workers due to this stigma, and often the people who need it the most, are the most unwilling to seek the assistance. We have created a culture where those seeking mental health guidance, examinations, and discussions are the weirdoes, the freaks, and the counter culture. When did being healthy turn into a weakness? In any other aspect in life you protect your largest investment. You buy home owners insurance for your home, car insurance for your car, you do background checks on your childcare providers, and make sure that seat beat, crib, car seat and diaper has not been recalled, all for prevention and to have some assurance that in an uncertain instance, you have protection, that you have done all in your power to insure you have the best odds at survival and success. This is the antithesis of mental health in America. Here being of sound body does not equate to being of sound mind. We are humans, we succeed and we suffer, we have the ability to reason, and be unreasonable, and for all of these emotions we have our minds to thank.  Left unchecked, under the right circumstances, with the right stressors, the right pain, the right suffering, could we as humans have the capability for our minds to overcome our reason, or pain to overshadow our morals, and our anger to snuff out our hope and  to be Adam Lanza, Timothy McVeigh or James Holmes? It is absolutely appalling to think this, that we have the same human DNA as these animals. We have the same types of cells, that multiplied in the womb the same way,  that blew candles out on their birthdays, went to baseball games, enjoyed pizza, and have people that love us.  The notion that on the surface, before whatever caused this complete atomic meltdowns of humanity in these people, they were just like all of us. They had mothers, teachers, siblings and family, and the only difference was their experiences, and the perceptions they had of these experiences that would then shape their mental stability. While they may have larger mental instabilities than the average human, I am sure that there are many others living and working through these issues without having catastrophic outbursts as their demise. I am not that naïve to think that there is not more here, but in essence we think we are so far removed from this evil, when in fact, we might all very well carry it with us, we just have the mental capacity and strength that others don’t.  This is one topic that will have to be addressed in order to improve our odds of preventing this in the future, and lowering the instances where we have to bury 20 innocent children. Mental health has to become socially and financially, accepted, supported, and encouraged.

The other piece to this complex iceberg that I have been just mulling over again and again is of course the obvious, firearms. I have heard all the arguments of “people kill people” and “these rights were given to us by our forefathers” and “a person has the right to protect themselves”. While my irrational side would love to just jump on the bandwagon of get rid of them all, live in a utopian world where kids live in candy houses, and there is sunshine and rainbows every day. I get that is not real, and that there are bad people, and bad people have guns. I also know that this is a very heated debate that can immediately turn ugly, but I am just expressing my point of view here, you, like me, are entitled to yours as well, and it will be up to someone much larger up the food chain the result of what will be molded out of the aftermath when the dust settles, and emotion has a chance to speak to reason and action. Just to keep things in perspective.

I want you to think about inventions for a moment, the purposes of objects in our daily lives. A pocket knife, a hammer, a piece of fishing line, gasoline, electricity, a double barrel shotgun, these were all thought to be essential at one point or another in our evolution and innovation. We moved from being hunters and gathers, to simple tradesmen, to survival, to the industrial revolution, and the ability to hunt our own food to sustain large populations. We evolved, adapted, and used our knowledge and ability to think and dream and get to the next level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After thinking this through, each of these tools, served a purpose, had a role, and a true need. This is where I can rationalize with our forefathers. That a musket was a right and a privilege of man, that gave man power over the other beasts of the world, be it animals or enemies. I do not think that at any point the power, raw death, and carnage that a Bushmaster could wreak on an object or being would ever fit into this privilege or right. It has no purpose to humanity.  I think this notion should be tied to the same ideological struggle of just because we can do something, does that mean we should. With Dolly the lamb, life on Mars, genetic altering of our offspring, and all the other large scale debates, we never stopped to think about where warfare and gun enthusiasts should meet. Where just because we have this technology in our military does this mean I should be able to run to Wal-Mart and have that in my closet? This type of gun, and the massive magazines that were utilized in this horrific event should have never been in main stream society. I don’t care if I check your background as far back as three forests of family trees, with blood types to match, there is no reason anyone needs that type of weapon in any setting other than large scale military combat. The death of humans, and carnage for fun, is not a hobby. This notion should also not upset any individuals out there who enjoy hunting, for sport or game. Just like in fishing, large scale commercial fishing nets are not legal for certain fish and certain parts of the world’s oceans, they are banned and controlled for their sole intended purpose. Large scale assault rifles and significant rounds in a single magazine should have at least a similar restriction. Just like fishing in a small stocked pond with a commercial fishing net, assault rifles in a forest are equally unfair and take all sport or challenge out of the task. This is where I draw the comparison that the munitions like used at Sandy Hook, have no place outside of a militia. Hunters and other game enthusiasts should feel no threat to have these to fade out of availability and into history in society. How this is done is where government should take action as one piece to this complex puzzle.

There is also the argument that citizens should be able to fight fire with fire, that those protecting and those creating the need for protection should have a fair fight, as in equal ammunitions for the victim and the predator.  I would say in the majority of individual instances where personal freedoms and rights are threatened, the response would not need to be a high capacity machine rifle. I think a .22 bullet can stop someone breaking into your home, just as well as a 100 round magazine in a Bushmaster. Either way the perpetrator is not getting in, plus something smaller is probably more realistically managed in a high stress and emergency situation by someone who is not a professional marksmen or member of the military, which is often where this situation is brought up.  This is also where I think people think to black and white. Expressing these views to some will be much too conservative a response, but to others they will be extraordinarily restricting and unrealistic, but this is where no matter your political stance,  we will have to seek compromise. There will have to be some give and take, and if we cannot work together in the wake of such senseless violence, then I doubt we will be successful when the next fiscal cliff approaches, or the next 9/11, or the next Challenger explosion. As humanity we should seek the greatest reward by demonstrating compromise, and reaching that middle ground. It will teach a larger lesson to today’s youth that there is something good than can come from something so evil, and that we are not just victims of circumstance. We do have a say in our fate, our future, and our purpose, and that a single unstable individual can dictate the future of our communities, educational institutions, and freedoms and that we can reach a peaceful compromise with everyone giving something to gain something greater.