The Problems with Americans and Guns

           The Wild Wild West. The Industrial Age. The Age of Information. We have learned so much throughout time, yet so many fail to look to history to find the answers to the present problems.

            America was born in violent revolution. We seceded from England because the British government refused to represent our interests during Parliamentary proceedings. We have Founding Fathers who stood strongly against the banks, and we have time in our history when we existed without a “Federal Reserve” or any big-bank entities that create misery wherever they take hold. Due to our diverse population and thus our diverse set of ideals, our people have always disagreed on every topic. Our government is made up of a Democratic Republic, not a Democracy, not Communism, and not Parliament. Yet, we see our American dream—something that was cultivated in our early years and greatly enforced during Westward Expansion after our Civil War—is under direct attack, has been for a long time, and is getting worse.

            There has been another mass shooting at another school, this time in Florida. I don’t keep up with all of them, I’m just glad it hasn’t happened in my neighbourhood. I realize how blessed I am, for it is not a privilege to live without fear of your neighbours, it only seems so to those who cannot do so.

            Many people say that America should be like Australia and implement a gun ban and subsequent mandatory buy-back program for banned firearms. However, this idea has many flaws, primary among them being complete lack of Constitutionality. While it is true that Australia’s rates of violent crime have fallen over the years since they implemented their first gun bans in 1996, people who use these statistics to support their unconstitutional “ban-all-guns” ideology fail to recognize that there is never only one reason for something like this. The falling rates in violent crime in Australia have many more causes than simply lack of availability of firearms. For one thing—and this is something that Leftists also say America should mimic, and for this point, I would agree—Australia has a single-payer healthcare system and no Australian citizen needs to fear for lack of availability of care when he or she is sick or has a serious health issue. While it can be good to look at other countries for ideas, it does not do to encourage people in America to demand mimicry. Australia’s drop in violent crime since their gun bans began in 1996 has absolutely been the result of multiple factors, but all anyone can really see is a statistic showing trends.

Australian Violent Crime Trends, 1996-2013

            America is meant to stand alone, stand tall, and stand strong, United States whose unity is fierce and fearsome. Instead, we have become divided, poisoned by the corruption in our government and legal systems that continue to pass damaging legislation that keeps us at war with other countries and continues to pull resources away from the very people who make the country what it is.

            America has a corruption problem in our politics, our legal system, our law enforcement system, our education system, and it all stems from a problem in our banking system. I say this with a measure of hesitation, for it is a large accusation to make, but from what I have seen, all our problems come from people with large amounts of money wishing to make larger amounts of money and exert control over those who do not have as much money. This ultimately leads back to the banks, all of which have teams of lawyers and lawmakers working for them to affect laws in their favour.

            Naturally, America is not the only country with this problem, but this is not the only problem the United States face. Our healthcare system is expensive and unsustainable. Our education system is grossly underfunded, and our culture discourages critical thinking and intellectualism. More and more people in America spend their time trying to start an independent business, selling goods and products, rather than taking up gainful employment that gives back to their communities and is beneficial and productive to society and culture.

            We have a country full of salesmen and businessmen and our culture is shutting down the artists, engineers, scientists, philosophers, social workers, teachers, doctors, and nurses. Instead of encouraging critical thinking and community, our culture continues to strongly encourage individualism, “us-vs-them” mentality, and a distinctly capitalistic attitude geared towards making a better bottom line for the sake of one’s own personal gain. This is evidenced by the constant ads you see, and all those Facebook friends who are constantly trying to sell you things and join them in their sales. These include things like BeachBody, ItWorks!, Scentsy, PartyLite, Younique, and various clothing brands, makeup brands, and more. People who manage to make money in this way typically use that money to create a lavish lifestyle full of vacations wherein they continuously move around, and do not create roots or meaningful personal connections with others that can last tests of time.

“We have a country full of salesmen and businessmen and our culture is shutting down the artists, engineers, scientists, philosophers, social workers, teachers, doctors, and nurses.”

            These people are all over social media, and if they aren’t selling a brand, they’re selling something from themselves, such as fitness routines, nutritional guidance, lifestyle advice, etc., and they spend all of their time broadcasting and making themselves bigger to make their money and live lifestyles that are egocentric. While some of them may contribute some of their monies to charities, these people are still not engaging in employment within their communities and within society that gives back to the people around them, even when they give back to those who helped them get to where they are in their success.

            Banning guns is not the solution.

            Bolstering our education systems is a solution.

            Reforming our healthcare system is a solution.

            Holding our politicians, lawyers, and bankers accountable is a solution.

Thanks for reading.

Critical Thinking and Research

The problem with some people is that they buy into televised news networks’ rhetoric.

            In the process of doing my own research and working to independently come to my own conclusions about such issues as NAFTA, Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for President, and Bill Clinton’s crimes as President, I have been called lazy, dumb as a rock, and a fuckhead. These from people who support Bernie Sanders and whose goal should be to educate those around them, not cut them down for their ignorance.

            I thought Bernie supporters were basically cut from the same thread: independent thinkers, considerate of others, and willing to correct others when they’re wrong without throwing shade at them.

            I was wrong.

            As it turns out with everything in life, Bernie supporters are made up of a multitude of personality types, including the assholes who “don’t have time to teach” those who don’t know better. Somehow, Bernie has managed to touch the hearts of these rock-hard people who think they’re better than everyone else and that they have all the “right” answers. This speaks volumes for the Independent Senator from Vermont.

            I’ve learned a great deal over the past few weeks. A lot of what I’ve learned has to do with my college classes, most recently Critical Thinking in Everyday Life and previously Elements of Health and Wellness. These are two of the most important classes I could have taken with the University of Phoenix, as I have learned what I must do to continue my path of healing and I am currently learning how to challenge my thinking and the thinking of those around me to encourage the betterment of persons, including myself.

            In addition to my class work, I’ve learned that the North American Free Trade Agreement, cosigned by Hillary Clinton, has resulted in greatly increased trade deficit with Mexico and Canada. It has also contributed to the movement of thousands of American jobs to Mexico, where labor can be purchased cheaper than in America, and imports from Canada and Mexico have greatly increased while exports have decreased, despite promises of the opposite from NAFTA supporters at the time of signing. (Source: https://www.citizen.org/documents/NAFTA-at-20.pdf)

            In addition to my NAFTA research, I’ve learned that Hillary Clinton has literally flip-flopped on live television regarding nearly every major issue we face today, including gay marriage and her stance as a moderate. When I presented the video to prove it to my grandma, she countered with, “They use sound bites to make their point and don’t show the whole story.” If that’s the case, I’d like to know what the whole story truly is, because the video pretty clearly shows Clinton lying through her teeth about changing her stance on issues such as gay marriage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dY77j6uBHI.

            In addition to my Hillary research, I learned that Bill Clinton was, in fact, impeached in 1998 following a lawsuit against him by Paula Jones and the court case involving Monica Lewinsky. I learned that the word “impeached” does not, in fact, mean “removed from office,” but refers instead to the legal proceedings that played out in 1998 and led to Clinton’s acquittal of his charges, despite his perjury. My grandma likes to tout that Bill “was bringing down the national debt,” but if that’s the only good thing he did while he was in office (it’s not; the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell act was actually a good thing at the time), I wouldn’t say he’s a great example and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that his wife would continue the good work. (Source: http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/research/americanhistory/ap_clintonimpeach.php)

            Research is only the first step to independent thinking. Research without question only leads to information acquisition, not the objective weighing of said information to reach an informed, credible conclusion.

            I’m sorely disappointed in the quality of people involved with Bernie Sanders’ Dank Meme Stash on Facebook. They’ve proven to be rude—just as, if not ruder than Hillary supporters. All I want is to see the information for myself; one man argued that “the wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented,” but I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. I’m the newly-awakened kid who has never seen a wheel before and wants proof that it’s round because if I don’t see it with my own eyes, it could really be square for all I know.

            I’m done taking information at face value.

Some Thoughts about Thinking

Thinking about thinking is hard and most people don’t do it. The Puppeteer runs amok and it seems that the majority of people, at least in the United States, are under Its power.

            The Puppeteer is all of the forces in the world which would have you believe whatever piece of information is presented to you, without question. For example, when the preacher tells you that God is omnipotent and loving because the Bible says so, that preacher is an agent of the Puppeteer and you’re a victim of that power if you don’t question what he says. How is God omnipotent? What evidence do we have that God exists, aside from an ancient text that has been poorly translated thousands of times? How many times has the Bible been translated? How many inaccuracies exist due to translators’ desires to convey cultural context over literal meaning?

            These questions are penetrating, critical questions that help us to think critically about religion and what the preacher says. These types of questions are what I am now exploring in my class through the University of Phoenix and I feel fortunate that I now have the resources before me to take control of my own mind in a way that I hadn’t previously considered needing doing.

            The Puppeteer is evident in Its work; we see It at work with the 2016 election, as we are flooded with information from the different sides of the race. We see Hillary blasted all over the television, Bernie blasted all over the Internet, and Trump slandered all over both. What information should we believe and what information should we toss as useless? The answers lie in the research.

            Yesterday, I did some research on Hillary Clinton. I discovered that she has a history of defending women’s rights and speaking against the big banks, Wall Street, and Big Pharma. I also learned that she stands by her decision in the 1975 rape case that is often cited as a means of “exposing” her as a “villain”. The truth is, she stands by the fact that she is responsible for the lightness of the sentence because she fulfilled her obligation as a defense attorney. Initially, she requested that she not be appointed to the rapist; when her request was ignored and she was thus obligated to defend the young man, she fulfilled that obligation, regardless of how it made her feel or what the result was in the end. She was a defense attorney and she did what all defense attorneys strive to do; she defended the man against his charges.

            Some things I already knew about Hillary are that she did nothing wrong as Secretary of State during the Benghazi incident and she has not been found responsible for any loss of confidential information through her emails. In fact, all speculation against her regarding Benghazi and her emails have been led by Republicans and those supporting the Republican Party, such as Citizens United. Smear campaigns against Hillary should not be any more readily believed than smear campaigns against Bernie; however, so many Bernie supporters are willing to believe that Hillary did something wrong with Benghazi and she lost confidential information in her email scandal. These are the same Bernie supporters who proudly tout that they’ve done all their own research and have all the facts to make their decisions.

            Why are so many intelligent people so willing to sit back and just absorb whatever information best suits them? Why are they so disinclined to dig a little deeper in their research and find the real truth for themselves? It’s been touted by Bernie supporters that they’ve all done their own research, but the more I think critically about the things Berners share, the more I realize they’re sharing false information almost as much as the truth.

            When did our society come to so value laziness and lack of critical thought?