Illusion

Gruesome murder peppers the headlines in U.S. media day in and day out. Gun violence is an accepted element of American culture. The antisocial cowboy is an American icon, dressed in urban gang-wear in recent decades. Murdering Indians, murdering squatters, murdering each other. This is part of the American way. Any attempt to limit gun ownership are seen as anti-American.

 

The illusion that this can all happen without collateral damage has been dissolved by murders in a Connecticut town. We all know that politicians and those who are in love with the sense of power behind a murderous weapon will go back to sleep shortly. Alligator tears are shed in front of convenient cameras. Nothing is ever done about it.

 

This is not cynicism. This is factual. Gun ownership does not decrease in the U.S.. Illegal weapons are commonplace. The U.S. exported weapons which fueled the Mexican drug massacres of recent years. If you own a gun, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution, no matter how Liberal or enlightened you may think you are. That personal illusion, that your gun ownership is somehow benign, provides the potential to create a similar blood bath to the one now being exploited by media.