We hoped. Come on we did. We thought the NRA might have a come to Jesus moment and say enough is enough and lets get these assault weapons off the streets. It was a fantasy but it seemed there might be some daylight out of the darkness of the horrific carnage in New Town. But Wayne and the boys quickly dashed our hopes with their heartfelt solution: lock and load. Everyone should now be armed. The teachers. Us. Security Guards. Because the nuts out there are out of hand and we have to stop the bad guys.
Now we come from a history of this in our Western Frontier. Before there was any law in the territories people had to take the law into their own hands. Many people were armed and this bore out the legend of the Wild West where people shot each other at will and everyone had a six shooter on their hip and the sound of DRAW resonated through dusty towns out on the Prairie. The Frontier was declared closed in 1900 and that mythical world faded into movies and dime store novels. But now we have the NRA saying that the Wild West is our society now.
And the best they can offer is a training program for teachers and anyone else who wants to meet someone with an AR15 with an AR 15. Right. Where is Wyatt Earp when you need him? The problem is Wayne does not realize the country has changed, the frontier has closed, and we are no longer cowboys. We are a polymorphous people who live in urban centers primarily and have to get along. We just don't have enough room for everyone to have a six shooter anymore. Look at Florida and Stand Your Ground. Already two young men are dead under questionable circumstances. But the NRA sees no complicity. They see no need to give up their precious right to have a Semi Automatic rifle. No need to curb any ones right to buy a gun at Walmart, Sportmart, or K Mart.
So it looks like we are going to have to do this without them. Surprise. Surprise. Still, there was a moment. A glimmer of hope that maybe the safety of children might bump aside their precious right to tear apart a fifty five gallon steel drum with an automatic weapon. But that probably belongs to the fantabulists and novelists who created worlds like the Wild West.
A mythical world now far far away.
www.billhazelgrove.com
Now we come from a history of this in our Western Frontier. Before there was any law in the territories people had to take the law into their own hands. Many people were armed and this bore out the legend of the Wild West where people shot each other at will and everyone had a six shooter on their hip and the sound of DRAW resonated through dusty towns out on the Prairie. The Frontier was declared closed in 1900 and that mythical world faded into movies and dime store novels. But now we have the NRA saying that the Wild West is our society now.
And the best they can offer is a training program for teachers and anyone else who wants to meet someone with an AR15 with an AR 15. Right. Where is Wyatt Earp when you need him? The problem is Wayne does not realize the country has changed, the frontier has closed, and we are no longer cowboys. We are a polymorphous people who live in urban centers primarily and have to get along. We just don't have enough room for everyone to have a six shooter anymore. Look at Florida and Stand Your Ground. Already two young men are dead under questionable circumstances. But the NRA sees no complicity. They see no need to give up their precious right to have a Semi Automatic rifle. No need to curb any ones right to buy a gun at Walmart, Sportmart, or K Mart.
So it looks like we are going to have to do this without them. Surprise. Surprise. Still, there was a moment. A glimmer of hope that maybe the safety of children might bump aside their precious right to tear apart a fifty five gallon steel drum with an automatic weapon. But that probably belongs to the fantabulists and novelists who created worlds like the Wild West.
A mythical world now far far away.
www.billhazelgrove.com
