A...6 Year Old????

At this stage of my life and thought I really don't shock very easily. I'm seldom actually surprised at things...but...when I heard about the 6 year old boy who brought a loaded hangun to school and shot a young girl, I WAS shocked and at least partially surprised. What was I hearing? An actual 6 year old shot someone? Going home and bringing a loaded gun back with him to exact some kind of revenge on this girl? Come, on...no way, but damn...its true. As I listened to the account, I felt my emotions welling up and tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Can this be real...can we have really come to that in this society? As Pink Floyd said in a song...No, this is no bad dream!!

As details trickled in about the boy, his past and present conditions, my mind went to the battles going on about gun control and violence in our society. I knew the NRA (which, I believe, should stand for No Rational Argument) would dismiss this event as having nothing to do with guns. I expected, but have been pleasantly surprised to hear little of it, cries for his arrest...citing his "choice" that he had to kill or not kill. No, despite the predictable response of the NRA (which could also stand for No Realistic Assessment), the country seems strangely silent...stunned even...about it. Yes, I know there's plenty of news reports...about his uncle and the kind of atmosphere the boy lived in...along with his father's legal troubles and his mother's rental problems. What a mess! But, it also seems that the country has collectively taken a pause or step back from the usual hyperbole about this kind of stuff. But then again, when was the last report we had of 6 YEAR OLD committing such a violent act? It seems that this seems so unreal that the usual commentary doesn't really do it justice...of course, with the exception of that NRA (which ultimately may mean Nerve Racking Argument).

So what's my point, what is it I'm commenting about? Well, let me state a few premises of mine before saying it directly. First, I don't want guns taken away from ordinary people...if we did, then its the government, not "outlaws", who would have the guns instead of citizens. Second, there are literally millions of safe and sane gun owners in this country...hell, some even with criminal records. Third, although I personally don't own a gun...and have only shot one once in my life...I reserve the right to buy one when I feel its needed. Fourth, its the NRA and capitalist weapon makers who influence our Congress the most whenever realistic gun-control legislation is brought up. The monies they pay to politicians is astronomical and its not just extreme thought to say they own these politicians. Fifth, the kind of economic system we live in (and its guiding principles and values) must have at least a some influence on events like this. So, from these premises:

Its time for all politicians, especially those bought and owned by these special interest groups, to collectively stop taking a single dime from them. People on all sides of the ideological consensus in this country...if they take any of these dimes...should say "no more...we don't want your damn money...we're finally going to do what is needed...enact tough but fair gun control laws which make it next to impossible for some people to own...or abuse...guns." I'm not saying that I, personally, know all the ins and outs of what this new legislation should look like, but I AM saying we've got to draw the line...now. My goodness, a 6 year old did this. What kind of society allows this to happen...allows conditions to continue which gives rise to this? Hasn't it gone far enough? Where's the damn courage to draw this line? If present members of Congress don't have it, then lets throw them out and start over with 465 new people who DO have the courage to do it. If our state and local leaders don't either...lets get rid of them. If neither Bush, McCain, Gore, or Bradley don't, lets elect someone else.

The time for platitudes is over...and so is the time for genuflecting to big business. To hell with their profits, to hell with anyone who makes even an honest living somewhere along the foodchain of selling weapons. Find another way to make a living. This isn't unprecedented. All major changes have necessitated these kinds of realities.

Then, lets examine an economic system which sells us ANYTHING for a buck. The one which "persuades" us to do anything in the same manner it sells us used cars. But that would be the really hard part for us americans, huh? I'm not holding my breath.

Then there's the culture we live in...a culture which highlights violence...revenge...paybacks...you name it. A culture is a total way of life, a whole greater than the sum of its parts...but yet created by the type and nature of those very parts. And yes, there ARE many elements and results in our culture worthy of our respect. Yet, its only the ones with very dim bulbs in their heads (or with their heads in the sand...or who simply benefit from the way it is) who can't understand how people like myself can realistically observe that our total way of life...our values, beliefs, and practices...is one in which paybacks of the sort which condition 6 year olds to do what this boy did...can happen. To hell with the straight and direct lines from a media-selling-us-violence to actual violence. I won't argue for or against that. What I will argue is the whole of this culture...of american society...is sick...insane (as Erich Fromm) has said. It's a society in which "effects" take place despite the lack of "intentions." We've all been conditioned by the "normalcy" of this culture and this little boy is a victim of it in the most painful of ways. That little girl is dead. Her parents grieve...but where do they look for answers? Assuming...cautiously...that they aren't "blaming" the boy, there's only one place left to look...us...all of us...WE are the society producing pathologies like this and many, many more. You may not agree, but I'll maintain we all have complicity in this affair. Our rationalizations, our excuses, our perceived self-interests, our greed, and most of all, our silence about the root realities of this dismal society, these are the culprits...damn it, its us.

I've had it. I don't care what your position on guns and capitalism is...its time for authenitic humans...some for maybe the first time...to stand up, speak, be counted, and speak some more. She was 6. He's 6. This is not right and no amount of rationalization will ever make it right. What do I tell my 14 year old? Hell, what do I tell myself? First and foremost, the truth about the society in which we live...its pathologies and what creates them. To the rest of us I'm telling us to WRITE TO ALL CONGRESSMEN (and every other leader on whatever level of governing)...insisting that they get a backbone...that's what. We need to set a different tone about ourselves. Will it happen overnight...this change? Far from it...but different "parts" of the whole will eventually create a different "whole." What are we waiting for? Let's suspend "business as usual"...lets do something, for once, because it simply needs to be done. This isn't for expediency, its for survival. We value ourselves in this country as the most inventive and forwardlooking people on earth...truly a suspect claim...but just in case we are, why not put these abilities to work in the service of creating a society we can be truly proud of. Are you proud of our society and its violent culture? I'm not.

David H. Kessel