It's time to end this madness

Note: I knew that yesterday’s essay would result in lots of discussion and debate. I strongly encourage that within The Warning community. You may not agree with my views — or those of others within this community — all of the time, but I appreciate the respect and civility that the majority demonstrate when expressing dissenting views. There were some people, however, who were less than graceful in their commentary. I ask you to please consider how your comment(s) will be received before publishing them.

With thanks,

Steve

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Somewhere in America the next mass killer is preparing his AR-15 and tactical gear. He is loading his magazines with bullets and finalizing his target. Saturday’s Dallas-area mall tragedy was the 200th mass shooting in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. There have been six more across America since then. The next killer is getting his weapons ready, and the number will inexorably climb like a home run tally accruing in the major leagues.

The mayhem and death can strike anywhere in America at any moment. There is no place that is safe. The killer’s territory ranges from country music concerts, night clubs, schools, churches, workplaces, hospitals, highways, colleges, shopping malls and supermarkets. Anyone can be blown away at any moment, from the elderly to the young. America is under attack from within, and the country is paralyzed from it. A dogma of extremism, political corruption and a national gun fetish are breaking down the ability of the American people to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The American people are being hunted and slaughtered by a menace of evil and easy access to high-powered military weapons that are designed to destroy.

“Thoughts and prayers” have become the immoral cry of appeasement and the shoddy mask of political cowardice. They are meaningless words that insult the memories of the killed and their families. God’s grace will not be revealed by the hollow words of politicians who have decided to play the odds with all of our lives.

Nelson Mandela said, “The true character of a society is revealed by how it treats its children.” I thought of that when thinking about the three children blown away in Dallas. Their American journey was short, violent and tragically unexceptional.

How many American parents are suffering from the effects of an anxiety that never fades because their children are never safe?  How many children are terrified of being in school because they can’t stop thinking about school shootings and the waiting to discover how close the next attack will be? How many Americans have wondered when the evil will come for them and their families?

We do not have to tolerate this.

The Dallas killer was wearing a patch on his chest. It said “RWDS.” It looked exactly like this one worn by a Proud Boy seditionist. It stands for Right Wing Death Squad. The killer, like many of his fellow terrorists, was a neo-Nazi sympathizer. He was a violently radicalized white supremacist in an era in which their ideology and ranks are swelling.

Yesterday was May 8th, and it is worth remembering that one of human civilization’s greatest triumphs occurred on that day. May 8, 1945, was the day that Adolf Hitler’s “thousand-year Reich” crumbled to dust. It was the day the war was won, and the Nazi criminals surrendered unconditionally. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans were among the casualties in a war that killed 60 million human beings.

When the crowds filled Times Square for the VE Day celebrations 78 years ago it would have no doubt shocked the participants if they would have been told that Nazis would be killing America’s kids in 2023. The main difference is that the killing today is usually done with American weapons.

The sun will rise in the east today and tomorrow. When it does, it will, unfortunately, harken the next mass shooting in America. It always does. It’s time to end this madness. Isn’t it?