Are We, Are We?

Are we staying up for New Year’s?  Are we?  Are we?
When you’re tuckered out after a full day of island surfing for food, sometimes you just got to kick back with some couch surfing for the camera.
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On This Day In:
2021	I Hope To See You Later
	To Do With You
2020	More Than Satisfying Hunger
	End Of Year Thoughts Of Those Gone Before Us
2019	Still Hoping To Soar
2018	Why America Stinks More Than It Did 50 Years Ago
2017	No Universal Thinking
2016	Supervise The Results
2015	Just Magic!
2014	It Lies Ahead…
2013	At Least One Difference
2012	Are We, Are We?
	On Not Playing The Game
	Scale
2011	Nutcracker And Nooks
	Seeing Differences

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On Not Playing The Game

We can’t have a shoot-out without guns.  We’d lose.
—    the character “Handsome Rob” (played by Jason Statham)
From the film:  “The Italian Job“
[I have resisted making a comment on the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, not because I’ve no opinion, but because the thought of all those children and teachers being gunned down remains too horrific for me to wrap my head around.  It still is and I can’t sit and think of it too long without profound feelings of senseless loss.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution states:  “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.“
If we are to accept the National Rifle Association’s claim that every individual is entitled to any weapon they choose (irrespective of the weapon’s intended use or lethality) because “weapons don’t kill people, people kill people“, then we MUST accept that every inhabitant should also carry weapons just in case we happen upon an armed violent criminal or an armed unstable irrational person.
The NRA’s position is as logically absurd as is my extension to our logical reaction to their position.  Individuals seeking “the security of a free state” should not be placed in an unreasonable position of participating in a personal arms race to stay ahead of those who might harm us.  It is one thing to own a high-powered hunting rifle.  It is quite another to own an Uzi or a 50-cal machine gun, because your neighbor may own a mortar or an anti-tank weapon.  Where do we draw the line?
I am a defender of the Second Amendment and an individual’s right (“the right of the people“) to keep and bear arms.  I also believe in the statement “a well regulated militia“.  So, the people have a right to keep weapons, but the state has duty to regulate this right to the benefit of all concerned.  The framers of the Constitution had no concept of a modern day assault weapon (rifle or handgun or portable rocket launcher), let alone chemical weapons or tactical nuclear devices.  If they had, it seems to me they would have passed a very different amendment.
Can you HAVE a shoot-out, without guns?
Sometimes the only way to win is to not play the game…  This is the lesson of Tic-Tac-Toe.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	I Hope To See You Later
	To Do With You
2020	More Than Satisfying Hunger
	End Of Year Thoughts Of Those Gone Before Us
2019	Still Hoping To Soar
2018	Why America Stinks More Than It Did 50 Years Ago
2017	No Universal Thinking
2016	Supervise The Results
2015	Just Magic!
2014	It Lies Ahead…
2013	At Least One Difference
2012	Are We, Are We?
	On Not Playing The Game
	Scale
2011	Nutcracker And Nooks
	Seeing Differences

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Scale

Now, proud man! now, where is thy greatness fled?
What art thou in the scale of universe?
Less, less than nothing!
—    Henry Kirke White
From his poem: “Time“
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On This Day In:
2021	I Hope To See You Later
	To Do With You
2020	More Than Satisfying Hunger
	End Of Year Thoughts Of Those Gone Before Us
2019	Still Hoping To Soar
2018	Why America Stinks More Than It Did 50 Years Ago
2017	No Universal Thinking
2016	Supervise The Results
2015	Just Magic!
2014	It Lies Ahead…
2013	At Least One Difference
2012	Are We, Are We?
	On Not Playing The Game
	Scale
2011	Nutcracker And Nooks
	Seeing Differences

Read Full Post »