Guest essay on gun control – Denton Record Chronicle, 6-7-18

Reading about the pro-gun vs gun-control debate one has to wonder if the vocal ones on either side will ever learn. Nobody is changing their minds, nobody wants to, and the very reason one side gives to make a change, is the reason the other side wants to keep it the same. In fact, there is very little of substance that anyone can agree on. Yes there’s a second amendment, yes it’s about the right to bear arms and yes it’s part of the Bill of Rights written in 1791. That’s about it. I’m not taking sides here, but I wonder if there’s any use in rehashing the same arguments over and over again, ad nauseam.

“If there was ever a good argument in favor of gun control, a middle school massacre by a minor without a permit should be sufficient,” so say the gun control advocates. “If there had been more guns at that school, lives could have been saved,” so say the pro-gunners. And so the argument endures, neither side willing to give an inch, evidently not understanding the futility of arguing against each other, or perhaps too stubborn to give it up, both forever frustrated by the perceived entrenched, wholly unreasonable beliefs of the other side. And that’s not all. The same goes for abortion, welfare, religion, confederate statues, immigration, separation of church and state, the name Redskins, you name it, the list goes on. Furthermore, quoting a professor, a so called expert, or, Lord have mercy, Wikipedia, is, come on, absolutely no help. I say give it a rest. The fact is, there is nothing that can change or will change until people want to change and same as a donkey knee deep in water not wanting a drink, there is no making them: our society, our culture, we the people, are not built that way.

Remember Thoreau? “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” I believe Henry a good guy, his books all friends of mine, his advice worth considering.

To sum it up: what we need is less bickering and more understanding that we are not all the same, that we each have a right to our own beliefs and our own way of thinking, something personal that is best left strictly the hell alone.

We do, however, have a vote. That’s where a change can be made, maybe the only place. At the very least, it’s a starting point. I say get out and vote. Until then, brother be kind, tone it down, keep the peace.

After a shipwreck in which only the two survived, the Christian asked the Hindu: “Did you thank God?” to which the Hindu responded “yes, of course . . . every one of them.” I’d like to think that after that courteous exchange, they were both happy to be alive, shook hands and cooperated to stay that way.

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Here is the link: https://www.dentonrc.com/opinion/columnists/manuel-taboada-only-one-answer-to-ceaseless-unproductive-gun-debate/article_e2cf7a55-5a4d-5b52-bff0-25b2541dd4e8.htmlhttps://www.dentonrc.com/opinion/columnists/manuel-taboada-only-one-answer-to-ceaseless-unproductive-gun-debate/article_e2cf7a55-5a4d-5b52-bff0-25b2541dd4e8.html