Jeffrey Guiliano of New Fairfield, Connecticut is reportedly in a state of shock and experiencing more anguish than any parent should be asked to bear. His lawyer says he's inconsolable and physically ill. That's probably an understatement. You see this past weekend Jeffrey got a call from his sister who lives next door at 1 o'clock in the morning. She thought somebody was trying to break into her house. When Jeffrey went outside to investigate, he saw a person wearing a black ski mask who was holding a knife. When the masked individual started approaching him, Jeffrey shot the man dead with a gun. The masked individual turned out to be Jeffrey's son.
The New Fairfield police have rightly determined that Jeffrey's actions were legally justified, but the fact that this killing was a lawful killing does nothing to alleviate the anguish Jeffrey is currently suffering. Moreover, he'll carry that burden for the rest of his life. It's not a price any parent should be asked to pay.
Jeffrey's burden has not escaped my notice, even though it may soon be forgotten by our citizenry-at-large. That's because our society holds the right to bear arms as sacrosanct without acknowledging the tremendous costs that right entails, and I think that's wrong!
Unfettered gun ownership in America extracts an enormous price from our society. A book recently written by Philip Cook, entitled Gun Violence: The Real Costs, reveals that the cost that Americans pay each year to guarantee gun ownership exceeds $100 billion dollars, and that cost is growing annually at an alarming rate.
I wonder whether Americans will ever own up to the true costs of the right to bear arms. I know Jeffrey Guiliano has, and it's more than his wallet – or heart – can handle.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
THE NIGHT BELONGS TO NETFLIX
Thanks to Netflix, I'll be enjoying this evening in front of the television while the rest of America has tuned in for the first Presidential debate. Don't get me wrong. I like politics and I care about the outcome of the upcoming Presidential election. I also like debates and I think the prospect of watching presidential candidates spar with each other is a healthy exercise of our democratic process. On the other hand, my mind is made up at this point. I'm voting for President Obama and nothing that's said or done at the debates will change my mind.
I think Mitt Romney, the G.O.P. standard-bearer, is so out of touch with ordinary Americans that I can't even stomach listening to the droll that's sure to be flowing from his mouth this evening. My time is simply too precious to waste on such nonsense. That's a shame! The reason it's a shame is because democracy is not supposed to function this way. Democracy is supposed to give everyone a voice. In its noblest sense, democracy should strive to afford everyone an equal say in government, but sadly that is not the case with America's version of democracy.
In America's version of democracy, money talks, the wealthy wield the most power and the notion that government is of the people, by the people and for the people is an empty platitude. In America's version of democracy a man like Romney can pledge to ignore the interest of 47% of the population, as if that segment is dirt, and still reap the adulation of millions of adoring followers. It's shameful, but true…and I can't bring myself to watch. Thank God for Netflix!
I think Mitt Romney, the G.O.P. standard-bearer, is so out of touch with ordinary Americans that I can't even stomach listening to the droll that's sure to be flowing from his mouth this evening. My time is simply too precious to waste on such nonsense. That's a shame! The reason it's a shame is because democracy is not supposed to function this way. Democracy is supposed to give everyone a voice. In its noblest sense, democracy should strive to afford everyone an equal say in government, but sadly that is not the case with America's version of democracy.
In America's version of democracy, money talks, the wealthy wield the most power and the notion that government is of the people, by the people and for the people is an empty platitude. In America's version of democracy a man like Romney can pledge to ignore the interest of 47% of the population, as if that segment is dirt, and still reap the adulation of millions of adoring followers. It's shameful, but true…and I can't bring myself to watch. Thank God for Netflix!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
NOT CARING, NOT PRESIDENTIAL
Recently, people have been debating whether Mitt Romney is wrong about the motivations of 47% of Americans that he pledges not to care about if elected, but I think that debate ignores a larger and more important question. The debate ought to be over whether America should elect as president a man whose life of privilege has endowed him with such a cruel and dismissive attitude toward everyday citizens that he would boldly declare that almost half of all Americans don't deserve his attention. In my book, a man like that deserves nobody's vote!
When Marie Antointette famously replied, "Let them eat cake," it is frequently assumed that she was being cruel and dismissive toward the suffering of her people. The truth is that Marie Antoinette led such a privileged and sheltered life that she had no real sense of the plight or conditions under which her subjects lived. Marie Antoinette's ignorance is understandable. The same can't be said of Romney. Mitt Romney is not an ignorant man, but his life of privilege and wealth has bred a disdain in him for common folks and the struggles they face on a daily basis. That kind of callous disregard has no place in America, let alone the White House.
When Marie Antointette famously replied, "Let them eat cake," it is frequently assumed that she was being cruel and dismissive toward the suffering of her people. The truth is that Marie Antoinette led such a privileged and sheltered life that she had no real sense of the plight or conditions under which her subjects lived. Marie Antoinette's ignorance is understandable. The same can't be said of Romney. Mitt Romney is not an ignorant man, but his life of privilege and wealth has bred a disdain in him for common folks and the struggles they face on a daily basis. That kind of callous disregard has no place in America, let alone the White House.
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