Do It Yourself

Years ago Marshall Field’s Department Store advised the shopper, “The package you take with you gets home quicker.” That was a friendly reminder that would save you time and them money; after all, they generously offered to deliver your package directly to your home or gift recipient at no cost. In the early days public transportation did not present convenient circumstances to transporting home shopping bags filled with stuff. So the service originated for practical reasons as opposed to pure service.

But the point remains: do it yourself and you are in control of the results; take the package with you and you know it will be home at the same time you arrive there.

An apt metaphor for the times in which we live. If you yearn for an outcome that is not currently present, it will happen soonest if you get involved with producing that outcome. At the same time you will be present as the problems and solutions are worked out and defined. Let’s not forget defining the desired outcomes as well! That may be the larger task to do!

So, how do we use this gem of wisdom?

Let’s see, a mass shooting in Vegas. Not a good thing. Preventable under certain conditions, but in a free society, the event remains possible. So prevention is a matter of degree. What can I do about it? What can you do about it?

My position is to share my opinion on Facebook and in my blog. I can live with the Second Amendment that gives our citizens the right to bear arms. It is a means to keep the government from being all-controlling. Citizens may own arms and bear them. The circumstances of all that are not spelled out in the constitution. Court decisions up and down the entire judicial system have opined on the second amendment. It remains open today but I think it will slowly be tightened up.

Plainly spoken, there are limits to the right to bear arms. We must have limits imposed on the type of weaponry available to the citizens. Hand guns are for protection and target shooting. One does not have to own an armory of such weapons, one or two perhaps. A collection of guns disabled from firing is OK as well, but not capable of firing in an immediate sense. It is a collection, not an armory.

Rifles are good for sport hunting, target shooting and more. But one does not have to have a large number of these guns to participate in sports. So, a limit on the number of guns owned by one person. Seems reasonable.

Also with rifles, the nature of the caliber and firing mechanism should be limited. Large caliber is for what purpose? Penetrating an armored vehicle? If so, this is police and military issue only; no citizen should have an operating fire arm that is capable of war. That’s what we have an army and police force for. Civilian controls over both armed forces are present, so we can trust they are not out to get us citizens. So we don’t need to duplicate their capabilities as ordinary citizens.

Machine guns and others with the capability of firing sustained rounds is not a sport feature desired by the sportsperson. So they should not be available to the public.

Registration of all weapons is required so public safety personnel can track down where the guns are and keep everyone who owns such responsible for the armaments. This is not a violation of privacy. It is a violation of my safety if you don’t have to be accountable for the whereabouts of your armaments. Public safety policy 101.

Mental and emotional upsets should disallow ownership of guns. It’s the responsible thing to do. It would prevent unhinged persons from amassing weaponry and ammunition to kill lots of people. It wouldn’t stop such incidents from happening, but it might just slow them down long enough to prevent their occurrence. Who knows if this would work? It’s worth a try in my opinion.

Too many innocent victims of shootings occur in America. It is not right. To some degree it is preventable. We should try.

So, per this day’s blog, you can do something about this. Here are some steps to take:

-Write your opinion; share it with others; blog, Facebook posting, letter to the editor, whatever

-Share your opinion with your elected representatives who can enact legislation to effect your opinion on this matter. They are supposed to do what is right and what their constituents feel about such matters. They can’t do that without knowing your stand on the issues. Share them.

-Join a group that shares your view and works for enactment of solutions to the problems you are interested in. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

This action on your part is the least you can do to ensure the world works better than it did before. We have problems in this world; we need to define them and learn what we can do about them. We then need to take action. Peaceful, knowledgeable action. I can do it; so can you. So let’s do it. Your opinion and mine may cancel each other out. That’s OK. At least we are doing something and not sitting back and complaining.

Act on your beliefs. Be civil. But share your thoughts. It is the only way you will learn the ins and outs of all the issues. And have a chance of making a difference.

October 4, 2017