On Faith, Part 3
February 2, 2016
(In the middle of writing this segment this came to me. I wanted to let you know that today when mom and I went shopping for fish after chatting with you online, I realized that in this past week I looked to you as an inspiration….the way you changed your food regimen and how that led to your marked improvement in overall health. That is an example to follow. I will think of this the next time I want to splurge on food I should avoid.)
I thought the second part of this writing would be the last of this segment, but then there were still some issues that need mentioning; Trump and guns.
In my opinion Trump is a bombastic, buffoonish egomaniac. I can’t bear to listen to any of his speeches for more than five seconds, but then again I can’t bear to listen to Hillary either. Nor have I listened to anyone else’s campaign speeches in either camp. There is entirely too much noise. I’ve listened to Ben Carson before he decided to run for office and I thought he would make a good president but he’d never get enough support to make him a viable candidate. Putting aside your personal feeling about Trump, I would like you to consider two things.
First is the democratic process itself. It is full of shortcomings; cronyism, greed, lust for power, elitism, hypocrisy, etc., etc. The process has changed since our inception as a nation but it works. Far from perfect, but it works. If you have the backing, bankroll, can talk through both sides of your mouth, don’t care about stretching the truth or downright lie when needed, then it works perfectly.
Secondly, nothing happens in a vacuum. If there is a candidate for the presidency at this time that seems not suited for the job for many reasons and despite that gets high numbers in the polls, some thought should be given as to why this is happening.
The issue of guns is more problematic for me. There are many deep felt reasons as to why you are pro or anti, so many shades to either side. I would like you to know where I stand on this and why since we have differing views.
A firearm does one thing only. It propels a bullet at tremendous force. It is inanimate; it does not act of its own volition. Because of the devastation it can do, there has to be great care in its handling, a profound awareness of its inherent destructive capabilities. There has to be the deepest sense of responsibility possible when handling a firearm. There has been more attention on guns and not enough scrutiny on the person handling the weapon. There should be more resources used to study and treat mental illness, more safeguards to make sure the wrong people do not get access, ever.
There are so many articles written on this subject that we can go for pages and pages. A myriad of studies can be cited to support either side. The bottom line for me on this issue is defense. If someone breaks into my home at 2 in the morning I know that person is not there to sell Girl Scout cookies. That person is there to do me and my family harm. I cannot rely on the police to come to our defense in time. I cannot hope that that person will only rob us and leave. I will use deadly force to protect my family.
Much has been written about confiscation of personally owned firearms. When there comes a time that a government can absolutely affirm that no criminals will have access to firearms and that a person’s life and home is sacrosanct, then I have no problem giving up my firearms.
This belief might seem very brutal to you and it is. It as what is needed in the reality we have, in my opinion. Does that lessen the regard you have for me? I hope not.