They say choice isn’t okay, so why are guns?

A physiologically moral issue. And a pro-choice double standard.

“The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun.” -R. Buckminster Fuller

Politics would be better staying out of this.

We are all together a living, breathing organism, so why does nothing make sense anymore? We (mostly) all suffer from the same diseases, the same mortality, the same desires, and infinite wonders. All suffering. And many suffer more than others. And I suppose this is where we lose our sense.

Let’s begin with, though at some point long ago it didn’t begin with, the intergenerational fascination and fetishism of all things militant, hierarchal, better-than, or even heroic. There are also the roles we think we have to play, in the gender game. And to what measures do we teach our children the beauty (without the suffering) of the protector, the hunter, the warrior (without gender, without sport)? When did weapons become a choice dependent on the perspective of American military policy and procedure?

A father takes his 14-year-old daughter shopping at a gun show in Houston. Reuters

We are proud of our soldiers. Let’s make a flag, build a quilt, and cover our history in pride. And then…forget about them.

They’re not all bad guys after all. They’re protecting us. They fight for our freedoms. To choose? And what about the ones they kill.

We can easily become very proud of the things that can destroy us. And proud of the freedom to choose which one it will be, the one that will destroy us. Or we can destroy the us that needs fixing.

You’re a bad guy? We’ll destroy you to make us better.

Violence by gun. A quick way to control people, to control our problems, to make everything better. Emotional. Verbal. Physical. Indirectly and directly. Violence. Is destroying us all, while we’re still alive.

There are painters, makers of things, gardeners that help grow things, doctors that fix things, architects that build things, and welders that bring two things together. And then there are…

Guns. The destroyer of things. The physical and emotional way to communicate violence. Violence. The physical and emotional way to communicate the worst of the worst, inflicting and infecting any last bit of reason left in a broken and fucked up world mind soul. Everything.

The lawful removal of the least common denominator (gun) might only work as a symbolic gesture at first, but what would happen if we were to remove them from this equation, to remove this way some would prefer to communicate an end to a conversation that never started. Another reason to end all wars.

Maybe it would leave the necessary space to nurture and develop other ways to communicate. Maybe. To start a conversation. Before it ends. Maybe.

Removing guns could make it a little harder to end the lives of students at a college, worshippers at a mosque or church, and children at their school. It might make it harder to end these lives, prematurely, in this womb we call America. It could also make it harder to destroy the lives of so many moms, dads, grandmas, sisters, cousins, uncles, and friends. So many lives. Not to mention, the 22 veterans that die every day that choose a gun for their suicide. And they bring up mental health, and how do we begin the resolve, when what needs resolving is hidden behind machines that control violence.

“But we can’t eliminate all guns.” No. But we can eliminate the principle, to send a message that we do not choose violence as resolve, or violence as fun.

We are all together a living, breathing organism, and we need to start making sense before the time comes when carrying a gun is the only thing that makes sense.

Mexican Artist Pedro Reyes creates beautiful instruments from 6,700 Mexican drug war guns.

Reminder* In 2013 firearms caused 84,258 nonfatal injuries and 11,208 deaths by homicide, 21,175 by suicide with a firearm, 505 deaths due to accidental discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to firearms with “undetermined intent” for a total of 33,169 deaths related to firearms (excluding firearm deaths due to legal intervention). 1.3% of all deaths in the country were related to firearms.

Annual gun fatalities throughout the world
Less than 50: Japan
Less than 150: Germany, Italy, France, etc.
Less than 200: Canada

Note * A legal gesture, towards goodwill and faith in humankind would be better served by a complete gun ban, a necessary curb in our nation’s historical and philosophical foundation rooted in violence. This is something that any hypocritical (“pro-lifer”) yet politically-declared citizen should think about.

Reminder* http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm