Still another heart-rending tragedy! And who would have ever thought that a 20-year-old loner with a troubled, but non-violent history could have ever committed such a horrendous act: the slaughter of 27 innocents; 20 6-and-7-year-old children and seven adults!
And once again, the firearm of choice was a rapid-fire weapon, tailor-made for the commission of mass murder. Only now, in the wake of this tragedy, does there appear to be some recognition that we can't continue on this deadly trajectory.
Back in 2004, Congress, in its infinite wisdom, chose not to renew a ban on assault weapons. It seems as if the pace of such massive carnage has been ratcheting up ever since. Owing to the horrendous scope of this tragedy, and the fact that so many of the victims were just kids, many believe that legislators at all levels of government may finally be chastened. Meaningful firearm legislation with some real impact will actually come to pass! Me? I'll believe it when I see it.
It seems as if the lack of government activism over the past few decades has really taken its toll in many realms: economic fairness, national health, women's rights, a humane foreign policy, and yep, the right not to get whacked with a hyper-powered firearm!
With each passing decade, it seems as if the Social Contract is becoming less and less meaningful, at least on this side of the pond. The idea of a legitimate political authority that imposes some limitations and restrictions in order to benefit the common good seems to have lost its appeal. It's all about individual freedom, by golly! Everybody has a right to worship at the Altar of Things That Go Bang, regardless of consequences. (Incidentally, it's not my intention to slam hunters, many of whom recognize the need for safety and sanity and practice such).
Thomas Hobbes, one of the earliest proponents of the Social Contract seemed to have it right. Without it, we'd all be living in "a state of nature" where, in his words, "Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Hobbes, unlike a later advocate of the Social Contract, Jean Jacques Rousseau, harbored a dim view of democracy, but still, he was right on point about the quality of life without the Social Contract. Rousseau, on the other hand, was one of the theorists who provided the grounding for The Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
Maybe it's time for us to revive our own Age of Enlightenment. We can start by buffing up the Social Contract once again.
Even with an active social contract in place, life won't always be a picnic; there are still volcanoes, earthquakes and floods. But I'm all for Enlightenment and social responsibility;
ReplyDeletewithout them comes another Dark Age.
Mr. Obama wants to tighten gun laws, but that will be a useless venture. Only a constitutional
amendment clarifying and tightening the Second Amendment can resolve the issues at hand, once and for all. I don't see that on the horizon.
Nevertheless, Happy Holidays!