Friday, December 28, 2012

The Sandy Hook shooting


If not for my absence in writing on my blog, this would be just another of the long list of mass murders since Obama took over as President of our country that I would feel obligated to comment on. I'm not trying to say that all of these incidents (at least 6 since he took office, off the top of my head) are a result of his presidency, however, I will say that they are a direct result of the current political, social, and economic climate within our country-one which has been perpetuated and promoted by our 2 party system for much longer than my life time; but it is only now that the internet is a huge factor of communication in our lives that I, or anyone else, can rightfully point to the political climate, and the economic and cultural environments it creates here, as being a direct and primary contributor to the number and extreme nature of the most recent of these acts of mass murder which have permeated American news cycles for much of the last 15 years (since Columbine).
My position regarding most matters always starts with personal responsibility-taking control and 'owning up' to the decisions we individually make, whether good or bad. My ideology doesn't neglect the importance of cooperation between ourselves to create an ordered and functioning society, but at the core of my Individualist philosophy is the willingness to constantly re-evaluate personal, and broader, positions as times and society change. The events at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14th, to me, represent a direct reflection of the current condition of the broader American culture: fractured and on the verge of cracking-just like the young man did on the morning he committed these unspeakable acts.
The problem in America isn't one of guns or violence, the problem is within ourselves, our culture, and our beliefs.
For decades we have seemingly gone out of our way to dismantle the fabric of what used to make America the greatest nation on the planet. This tearing down of what makes us American's includes making good decisions, taking responsibility for those decisions (for the good and bad) and living with the consequences without fear of further government involvement (unless a felony was committed). Over the last 50 years, government and most of society, has run from these ideals, preferring to have the federal government 'tell us' what we should do and how we should do it, with just about everything, instead of providing us with multiple options fix or address the issues we face. 
The mother of Alex Lanza was obviously one of the people caught in the middle of this ideological destruction of what makes us Americans: she clearly wanted to help her son (she would go so far as to take him to gun ranges with her so as not to leave him alone where he could possibly harm himself), but didn't know how to help him outside of some sort of self implemented familial controls, which she (apparently) received little  to no help with from her oldest son, ex husband, or the system she used to teach in. Left to her own devices, and access to what is unquestionably a broken mental health system in our country, the only thing that surprises me about these incidents is that they aren't happening with even more regularity…
Our problem isn't guns or the potential violence they bring-it's our society. 
It is clear to any rationally minded person that American society is broken at nearly every level and in every aspect. Today, Americans are divided more than we have been since the Civil War (it seems), and the 2 party system which pervades throughout all levels of our government takes an active role in keeping us that way.
But, of course, we don't want to talk about our problems in build up to solutions: solutions to our problems are strictly prohibited by our government-especially the Federal Government. After all, if government empowered us to make good decisions, and had in place programs to help you get off government programs, instead of enslaving you to them, then maybe American culture wouldn't be so self destructive, but then government wouldn't have very much to do, would it?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

ROFLMNAO…

HYSTERICAL!

The mass-murders are a direct result of a culture which has embraced subjective reasoning, through stacks of compromise, one on top of the next with irrational, unprincipled people.

The Ideological Left, of which you are a longstanding enabler is directly, wholly, soley and utterly responsible for individuals who wantonly stroll into public facilities to murder as many people as they possibly can, AS A MEANS TO EXERT POWER FROM WHAT IS OTHERWISE AN IMPOTENT EXISTENCE.

This is the result of the rejection of ANY SENSE of individual responsibility, which is systemic throughout the US Culture and is promoted BY ONLY ONE FACTION, that OF the Ideological Left.

With its never ending assault upon any standard on the delusional premise that the standard itself is "UNFAIR", as it "DISCRIMINATES" against someone.

The culture is so fractured at this point, so riddled with half-baked legalities and schemes that to even UTTER A CONTEST OF THESE IRRATIONAL CREATURES IN ALL OF THEIR VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS DRAWS CACKLES FROM THE CLUTCH DECLARING SUCH AS AN ATTACK UPON CIVILIZATION ITSELF.

These people grew up in dysfunctional homes, with drunks and drug addicts as part time parents… producing petulant, self-centered children that grow to become SOCIOPATHS.

There is no further means to compromise with you people. As we no longer enjoy any sense of kinship.

TO compromise with you is to lose yet another piece of precious ground and such will no longer provide the space for which our predecessors had hoped in their desire to just consent to your cacophonous prattle, on the foolish notion that to do so might just shut you up for a while.

We've since come to learn that YOU NEVER SHUT UP!

We now fully understand that it is IMPOSSIBLE TO SATISFY YOU, THAT THERE WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH, AS YOUR APPETITE IS INSATIABLE.

So, we wait…

At some point, in what seems to be the VERY NEAR FUTURE, you will cross the unknowable line and in so doing, you will provide us with the sound moral justification to launch into you with the defense of our means to exercise our rights which will, through its ferocity, shatter the bonds of humanity itself.

And when the dust settles, there will be no more appetite for conflict and dam' few people standing around to produce much of it.

And with that I bid you good riddance sir.

Love and Kisses,

Publius Infinitum

Ryles said...

The only thing "infinitum" about you is your irrationality regarding what is obviously a great many things...Regardless, this blog is not the place for my personal battles-it is for an exchange of rational opinions/discussions. If others want to speak for me, so be it-i will restrict who i must, but otherwise i have no interest in 5th grade communication tactics :/.

Anonymous said...

Your tortured writing contains all of the symptoms of conservative thinking instead of what you claim. Most notably your complete absence of personal responsibility and any vision for an improved future and solutions leading there. It is pure anti American whining. Of no use at all for anyone.

Anonymous said...

ROFL…

Your concession is duly noted and summarily accepted, Gilligan.

Folks, it did the best it could…

Ryles said...

You both disregard the simple fact that the specific problem has yet to be identified.
a) i'm not a conservative, so take that bias elsewhere; b) how are you going to come up with a solution, without identifying the actual source of the problem?

I let this one personal attack slide-no name calling or belittling is allowed on my blog. You're either capable of the exchange of ideas and thoughts openmindedly, or you aren't. I will manage comments accordingly.

Anonymous said...

"The Problem" is the proliferation of ignorance…

You are a first class example of the result of such.

Your 'Ideology' is one which rejects principle. Absent principle, there can be no potential for education, thus knowledge is lost to the substitutes born from the vacuum, the most common is populism.

The solution is reject you and your ideology. And it is toward that end that I come to our local debate, testing my reasoning against that who would contest it.

I'm buoyed by its flawless efficacy. And in so doing defend the last vestige of America, determined that when providence allows, to rebuild the culture from the foundation of that foundation.

Anonymous said...

You are right in that you didn't identify any specific problem. However you led your piece with remarks about America's President and said nothing about the NRA, both leading me to believethatit was your intention to mislead rather than lead.

Ryles said...

Since you don't use names: timed at 12:27.

I will only point out that you seem to be completely unable to see my positions: i stand on reason, morality, and individuality. These principles lead to solid decision making. No one is 100% perfect in their decision making, but these tools give you the best chance of success.
That you see me, being from these positions, as "the problem" is very telling about what is going on in YOUR head...

at 12:19...
I made no mention about the NRA b/c they had nothing to do w/the shooting. I lead w/remarks about the President b/c a) i wasn't going to ignore the fact that this is happening during his tenure but b) it is unfair, in any way, to try and pin it on him. If you note, it is the direct correlation i make between the president and this one event.

Ryles said...

*the only