Thoughts and Prayers

Thoughts and Prayers:A Derringer Versus a Rocket Launcher

When I was a very young boy I prayed for many things including puppies and bicycles. Usually my prayers were self serving and maybe that’s why they were never answered.  I got my puppy and the bike I wanted when I was an adult and could buy those things for myself.  It was not an answer to prayer.  

When it comes to some natural or man made disaster in which many people are injured or killed people are quick to send their “Thoughts and Prayers.”  Others send money and supplies necessary to aid the victims, or to help the situation, maybe those who act in such a way are the answer to prayer, or not. One’s position in this scenario will depend on personal belief in prayer.  It is extremely difficult to argue this position on prayer as it all comes down to faith, so I won’t even try.

I do know for many who really do not truly care, do not want to get involved, or do not wish to donate money, will instead of any form of real action, send their thoughts and prayers.  “Thoughts and Prayers” are a rallying call to inaction.  One social media posting mocked these people and this idea with a picture of an empty transport trailer with the caption: “The first truck load of thoughts and prayers arrive to alleviate the suffering of hurricane victims in Florida.”  

When in comes to mass murders in the United States thoughts and prayers are sent out on a weekly or daily basis as demand for this service is extremely high.  There is no apparent way to stop multiple murderers who use automatic rifles in high density venues as according to experts like President Trump this is not a gun issue, it is a mental health issue.  However, there is an apparent abundance of crazy people with easy access to all manner of weaponry.

In relative terms, of the thousands of people who die from guns in the United States every year only a small percentage fall under the mass murder category, so probably, other than for the victims themselves, their friends and families, not really a pressing national concern. These horrible events happen in churches, movie theatres, schools, open air concerts, road side, or just at random public locations. At this point in time, I for one, and likely along with the vast majority of people have become somewhat desensitized by the scope and scale of these murders.

Back in the Al Capone days  when the St Valentine’s Day massacre occured seven gangsters were machined gunned to death.  It was a billed a “massacre” and these were gansters not even innocents.  Now if seven innocents from the general public are shot down in a school it hardly makes the news cycle because the day before some other killer took the record with 54 killings. In fact killings of this scale and frequency are now part of the American fabric. 

Attachment, no let’s say addiction to the second amendment renders frequent multiple deaths the necessary collateral damage for freedom, for gun freedom that is, which is a little different from safety on the streets, although sometimes the concepts are confused and often merged as one.

I know at one time through the sixties and every decade to the present I have followed the  progression of mass shootings, the public angst, the call for gun reform, then the calm between storms.  The calms are shorter in duration and the storms far more violent and not much has changed.  Partialy do to short term memory, the power of the NRA and other lobby groups, self serving corrupt politicians, and those people who simple love guns more then people.

Now when the next killings happen and that will be in a few days I will send no thoughts or prayers.  This is no longer a tragedy as that suggests some momentous catoustrophic event that can not be stopped.  This violence can be stopped.  Americans choose not to stop it.  I regret so many have died and so many more will die, but until people believe life is more important than the right to bare arms there will be no substantial change, only minor token gestures.

Democracy is no longer a democracy when controlled by lobby groups.  America is the most highly armed civilian population in the world.  In those states where there is slightly more stringent gun control the stats on death are not so grim.  Sadly, this is not an argument about logic.  It has to do with faith.  Americans have faith in guns for their security and as with religion one can not argue faith.

Thoughts and prayers won’t change anything, the vote someday might, but that takes political will, common sense, good judgement and different priorities and that is like a derringer facing a rocket launcher.