The Political Account: Examining our gun culture

I initially intended to write about the current state of our real estate market and the health of the economy within our region — this was not to be — as I, along with the rest of this country, have experienced sadness over this past weekend’s mass shootings that have rocked this nation.

It is very natural to want to place blame, but is dysfunctional in finding a preventative solution. These mass shootings have gone on too long without any meaningful action to combat the very root of the problem. We must identify that very root, so we can attack it thoroughly and cast no doubt on its return.

Let’s start with the individuals themselves who have inflicted so much harm and terror: Columbine was not the first mass shooting in this country, but it is the one that most people recall as being so. The reason for making that statement is to show that this type of terror — prior to Columbine — didn’t have 24-hour news coverage of acts of violence that were romanticized by the mentally ill and deranged. We have all heard the term “copycat,” but I think it is more important to use terms such as “emboldened” and “unintentionally memorialized.” Let’s face it, there are very sick-minded individuals out there who are obsessed with a culture of violence and those who have committed violence in the past, nearly worshiping the likes of Charles Manson, John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Timothy McVeigh and so on … and we have been feeding this culture within the media, along with Hollywood, which provides a platform for twisted minds to present their manifestos and have their names etched into the history books forever.

I am a libertarian at heart, and there is no way I would look to Congress to limit the freedom of speech or of the press, but those who are a part of the problem need to start taking a hard look at their own contribution to this madness. I will admit that some media have stopped focusing on the shooter and are instead offering a focus on the victims and the stories of heroism attached. This still isn’t enough. I would love to see legislation providing a directive to the FBI to immediately bring down all social media platforms connected with the assailant and put a gag order on any information related to that individual, in perpetuity. By doing this, there will be no platform, no way of ever being remembered, and no way of ever being memorialized by another diseased mind.

After the American Revolution,“he who shall not be named” was used in referring to the traitor Benedict Arnold. Back then, the power of a name, and actions attached to it, was understood.

I have touched a little on the state of mind of these sick individuals — and that is exactly it — they are mentally ill; and there is a severe lack of early identification as well as proper treatment. The president touched on this a bit during his address Monday, speaking about “red flag” laws and a need to improve mental health assessment and treatment. I believe the president nailed it, but there needs to be caution with these directives. Our freedoms can be trampled very quickly when every citizen is under scrutiny for actions not yet committed, scrutiny that is fueled by perception on the part of trained individuals who may or may not have their own agenda. But mental health must be a focus: without it, there will always be a looming threat.

The president needs to examine himself in all of this. I don’t believe that he is a racist or a white nationalist, as many have stated, but I do believe that the leader of our nation should look to his own message he is delivering to its citizens. Name calling and hatred for his opposition and the press has only left a poison that is coursing through the veins of this society, emboldening the sick-minded to elevate their fantasies into action. I am a parent, and I know that every word I speak in front of my children can and will have an impression as well as a consequence attached. Words are powerful, and we need to be very cautious with how we use them.

Next, I will examine the very controversial topic of gun control and the Second Amendment: not only does it have a place in this conversation, it should also be handled with care under scrutiny. No one can deny that weapons — of any kind — in the hands of the mentally ill, can and will prove disastrous.

We are a nation that needs to heal and collectively find solutions through bipartisan action that will prevent another tragedy. If we cannot put aside our differences long enough to focus on a viable solution, we are only serving the disturbed mind, instead of justice for all of the victims tragically and needlessly taken from us.

Writer Uriah Wilkinson is a local political contributor and a history buff. Contact him at uriah@wilk web.com.