Category: Thought

In aftermath of yet another massacre in USA a national, or indeed global, discussion on limiting access to guns roars again. Emotions are running high while logic is put on the back burner. Both parties are focusing on an easy target instead of finding a root cause of the whole problem, which in my opinion is: people were taught to disregard each other.

We live in interesting times when other people are no longer your fellow citizens, but as a potential source of your income. We can’t get too emotionally attached to strangers, because that will cost us dearly – we then we won’t be able to squeeze the last penny of the poor sucker or, god forbid!, we may have pay to help him. Wall street doesn’t like that, so your boss doesn’t like it either. You don’t want to risk being fired, so screw John Doe!

After work we come home to relax, so we start our web browser or turn on our brand new 50″ plasma. And we observe internet trolls competing with journalists in the hate talk. They know exactly which strings to pull to make us react – nothing brings us to attention than being insulted or screamed on. Trolls do it for fun, just for a pure pleasure of seeing people fighting for no real reason. I really hope they do not realize that this way we all get used to this form of communication – full of anger, disregard and foul language. I’m not saying we all spread the hate over internet, but I bet everyone looks on a “comments” section of a web page from time to time.
The other group I consider even worse than trolls – journalists – antagonize us it for the money. TV loves mockery, radical and simplistic beliefs, catchy phrases. The substance is not important while making us think actually makes the things worse for them – we may start questioning what we were told. Why the hell should they risk that? Instead they jump into their preacher shoes and start their sermons based on their fake authority. And day by day we are being taught to hate each other more and more.

Or maybe we’d rather do something relaxing in the evening – watch a show when judges are allowed to offend poor singers; another season of our favorite drama or new blockbuster. So we watch endless stream of celebrities making fun of stressed out wannabe stars; know-it-all doctors giving a proper bashing to everyone they find inferior, cars exploding, people being ripped to pieces and superheros killing baddies by the dozen. Fake blood is cheap and we get immersed in violence, envy and detest.

And then we are told it is OK to kill people if they don’t like us or are not like us. We are so proud of our troops killing men around the world. We waive our flags and thank them for securing our freedom. We know that our boys and drones are doing great job wiping all our enemies from the surface of our planet, so we bring our children to parades to show them appreciation for our peace. Don’t get me wrong. We want them on that wall, we need them on that wall! But please take a moment to explain me why I should not kill people that hurt and threaten me when they live two blocks down the road and I can do it when they live just across the ocean?

Does it really mean anything if I have a gun in my desk? It does a bit. If I don’t own a lethal weapon, then it’s not easy to kill someone on an impulse. But the biggest mass murders were not done on impulse – they were carefully planned. Killers were preparing for weeks gathering resources, sketching plans and scenarios. Would the tougher gun control stop them? No, it wouldn’t.

Only change of mindset would.