Both Sides of The Gun Debate Are Coming From The Same Place
It strikes me that both sides of the gun debate are coming from the same place. They both fear the violence and crime that is present in society, especially when it involves guns. One side believes the solution is to arm as many people as possible. Then we would have a “cold war” of Mutually Assured Destruction, i.e. everyone not using their weapon as someone else might have a weapon. If they did encounter crime, they believe they could stop it. The other side seeks to remove guns from the equation believing that fewer guns led to fewer gun fatalities. Crime is less violent when the tools of crime are less violent.
Somehow the two sides need to sit down together, and rationally discuss the situation using objective evidence. They then need to arrive at mutual agreeable solutions. Operating from a place of fear, relying on urban myths, feelings, emotions and beliefs is not solving the issue.
That there is an issue with gun violence in this country is the one thing both sides can agree on. We should not have to live our lives from a place of fear. We are smart enough to solve this problem if we peel away down to fact based data and are brave enough to use what we find.
My Christmas Wish
My Christmas wish is that the gun owners of America would gather together and collectively give the NRA the bird. They would then work collectively to push Congress to pass sensible gun regulations that would protect their rights as sportsmen while protecting all of us from the current mayhem of gun violence.
That is my wish.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 6,510
yeah I know you did not ask!
Did you ever wish the path to wisdom had road signs?
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 178
yeah I know you did not ask!
When did the Republicans decide that passive aggressiveness was a leadership style?
Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
This book could have been very easily retitled Men in Love, but that would have gotten Lawrence more grief than he was already experiencing. It is a continuation of The Rainbow focusing on two of the Brangwen sisters Ursula and Gudrun. Ursula, of course, was the focus of the later part of the first book. This is a novel more driven by character than plot. It is also a book in which Lawrence spends a good deal of time expressing his views on class, materialism, industrialism, marriage, love and not so obliquely, homosexuality. Continue reading “Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence”
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 3,403
yeah I know you did not ask!
If you are complaining about people whining, are you not whining also?
Overheard
I was leaving the gym, headed towards the stairs to descend to my floor in St. Louis skyscraper I work in. I passed two thirty-something females waiting for the elevator which arrived about time I passed. As they were getting on I heard one of them remark, ” the date of our first date, was the date of his divorce…”, and the elevator doors closed.
Sounded like a story that might have been interesting.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 8,016
yeah I know you did not ask!
I’m sure it is just me, but hipsters strike me as metro-sexuals trying to look masculine.
She asked, “Who can be a curmudgeon?”
The other day Robin asked me, “What is a curmudgeon?” She knows the dictionary definition of curmudgeon: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man. She was asking me, the mastermind of the website Curmudgeon-Alley.com, because she thought a young lady of our mutual acquaintance could qualify as a curmudgeon.
I tend to think of myself as a bit (some folks would say more) of a curmudgeon. I did have one commenter on my website take me to task for pinning this appellation on myself. They felt that it was a title that should be conferred. Perhaps they were thinking that there should be some sort of ceremony. A character reminisce of Walther Matthau could “knight” the aspirant by tapping both shoulders alternately with a gnarled, well-seasoned cane resembling a shaking index finger. Continue reading “She asked, “Who can be a curmudgeon?””