Manifest Destiny! America’s mantra of the 1800s. A national obsession to move westward, to secure and possess all the lands between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. To secure and own it, America surely did, and in only a few decades of the 19th Century.
How did this happen? Guns won the West – Remingtons and Colts slaughtered tens of thousands of buffalo, which carcasses were left to rot on the great Plains, until almost none remained. While the “White Man” was eliminating the “Red Man’s” basic sustenance, the “White Man” also was crushing all the native Indians, the original long-time residents of that land. To hell with ‘em all, along with the critters they lived on.
Sadly, America’s cultural imperative of “The Gun” remains a significant American ethos 200 years after slaughtering beast and foe alike.
Numbers do not lie. Almost 16,000 Americans die each year (excluding suicides) from guns. In addition to the loss of innocent human life, these deaths cost America’s economy almost one-half of $1 trillion yearly. Each year, about 3,400 children and teens die by gun-based homicide. Children and teens “of color” are four times more likely to be killed by guns than those that are white.
Stalin said, “One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic.”
Have gun deaths become only numbers in America, just another statistic easily ignored, except to the families and loved-ones who have lost their beloved? How in the name of Hell do we tolerate this hemorrhaging of lives given up to the Temple of the “Legend of the Gun?” No other country stomachs such insanity. We are unique. Shame on us.
We hear the notions that “guns do not kill; people kill.” Those persons who make such statements and other naysayers choose to blame mental illness, poor or absent parenting, little or inadequate education, and other nonsensical excuses, leaving “the gun” without fault. Wrong. Too many guns, in too many wrong hands, equals too many senseless deaths.
Consider this: to own a gun in many states requires no background checks, permits, or training; these states allow untrained folks to openly carry guns, of any type, anytime and anywhere, including at my alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin. Visit my home state and you will see Texas’ illusions of “freedom” in the name of “The Gun.”
Daily, news sources report more meaningless killing. In 2021, there were 645 “mass” shootings, resulting in 645 deaths and countless injuries. With one month remaining this year, America has already endured 638 “mass” shootings resulting in 637 deaths and many more injuries. That is an average of two every day, which could set an ugly record for “mass” shootings and the most homicides.
In the week alone before Thanksgiving Day there were three: in Colorado, in Virginia, and California. These murders used a military weapon with a large magazine loaded with devastatingly destructive bullets, an obviously preferred weapon of choice for mass murders.
These military weapons are made for one purpose only — to kill other humans on the battlefield. On Sept. 19, 1994, President Clinton signed the law that made ownership of such weapons illegal, only to be allowed legal again after a 10-year period of sanity.
Newly minted social and political mass delusions that spew hate seem to be as frequent as mass shootings. Where does that craziness come from? Here is one possibility: about every day in June, demonstrations were conducted by heavily armed men belonging to ultra right-wing tribes. Anti-government militias and right-wing culture warriors, like the Proud Boys, comprised a majority of these and other intimidation protests. Threats of violence, even killings, by far right-wing crazies shouldn’t jeopardize our social and political disagreements. Americans, and our political leaders, can and must choose a different pathway.
Damned if I understand this folly. Being angry does not get close to how I, and many millions of other Americans, feel about senseless daily killings by guns. There is much we can do to positively address the “gun” infection without “killing” our Constitution’s Second Amendment.
I strongly believe that many gun-based deaths are preventable. That said, do we simply not have the good sense, courage or dedication to stop this carnage? We eagerly dedicate our money and commitment to eliminating medical deaths — deaths from cancer and heart disease decline every year, while deaths from guns increase.
Hello 21st Century America. An enlightened America; a well educated America; an empathetic and generous America. But something does not calculate; my pea-brain cannot connect the dots of causality that makes any sense as America’s homicides have surged. Have we the strength, dedication and common sense to solve this solvable disease? As a responsible gun owner, trained by Parris Island Marines, I believe we do. What do you believe?
David M. Taub was Mayor of Beaufort from 1990 through 1999 and served as a Beaufort County Magistrate from 2010 to 2015. You can reach him at david.m.taub42@gmail.com
