Eliot Rodger.
6 dead, 13 wounded.
If you started reading this expecting it to be one more log tossed on what now seems like the eternal flame of discussion/debate/argument about the 2nd Amendment, then the tree which you have upwardly barked is the wrong one.
And if you think this piece will offer up yet more random quotes from individuals on either, or both, sides of the what now seems like the deeply etched in stone discussion/debate/argument about the 2nd Amendment, you have, free of charge with no shipping or handling to pay, another think coming.
Given this latest killing spree and the inevitable jerking of philosophical knees on both sides of the aforementioned line, there is absolutely nothing to be said that has not already been said.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
With two exceptions.
Because, if, by some quirk of fate, you are not a passionate advocate, either pro or con, in regards to the 2nd Amendment but are, rather, simply an everyday kind of person, weary to the bone of not only logging on to your news site of choice and reading yet another list of the dead and dying but equally weary to the bone of the endless and, obviously, useless discussion/debate/argument about constitutional rights and arms bearing and our freedom to engage in it, then you might actually find what follows to be worth a few more minutes of your time.
Because this piece offers an opinion that, to the best of my knowledge, has yet to be offered in regards to the endless, and obviously, useless discussion/debate/argument about the 2nd Amendment.
From a voice that, again to the best of my knowledge, has yet to be heard on the matter.
Rhett Butler.
And for the more quick witted, please disregard that conclusion to which you are already poised to jump.
Yes, what follows is about, frankly, not giving a damn.
But only in a manner of speaking.
A couple of years ago, television and film writer Aaron Sorkin wrote a monologue for Will McAvoy, the fictional news anchor featured on the HBO series, "The Newsroom".
The monologue begins after a female college student, watching a panel discussion on which McAvoy is speaking alongside a liberal and a conservative pundit, asks the question “What makes America the greatest country in the world.”
McAvoy hedges against answering the question, not wanting to take political sides, but is pressured by the moderator to answer, when he finally delivers the words that follow:
"It’s not the greatest country in the world professor, that’s my answer.
Sharon, the NEA is a loser, yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck but he gets to hit you with it any time he wants. It doesn’t cost money, it costs votes, it costs air time, it costs column inches. You know why people don’t like liberals? Because they lose. If liberals are so fucking smart, how come they lose so god damn always?
*Turns to conservative pundit*
And with a straight face you’re going to tell students that America is so star spangled awesome that we’re the only ones in the world that have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, BELGIUM has freedom.
So, 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom.
And you, sorority girl, just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day there’s somethings you should know. One of them is there’s absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, Number 4 in labor force and Number 4 in exports, we lead the world in only three categories: Number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending where spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies.
Now none of this is the fault of a 20 year old college student, but you none the less are without a doubt a member of the worst period generation period ever period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Yosemite?
It sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chests.
We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men, we aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it, it didn’t make us feel inferior.
We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed, by great men, men who were revered.......".
Whatever one's political, even personal, persuasions, it would be difficult to make a case suggesting that this is not a remarkable piece of writing.
And, as history has proven, time and again and again and again, words possess a power that can turn potential into reality.
If, though, and only if, they are heeded at the right time by enough of the right people.
There, exactly there, and not hidden somewhere amongst the wires and cables and power lines of what America once represented, wires and cables and power lines that have gotten gnarled and mangled and even frayed, there lies the absolute rock bottom core of the real problem.
Enough of the right people are not heeding.
And the reason why is both simple.
And tragic.
We're Americans.
And America is the greatest country in the world.
Two people, that we know of, though, realized the danger in that mindset.
Will McAvoy.
And Rhett Butler.
Don't you agree with us?
I think it's hard winning a war with words.
What do you mean, sir?
There's not a cannon factory in the whole South.
What difference does that make to a gentleman?
It'll make a great difference to a great many gentlemen, sir.
Are you hinting that the Yankees can lick us?
No, I'm not hinting. I'm saying plainly, the Yankees are better equipped than we. They've got factories, shipyards, coal mines and a fleet to bottle up our harbors and starve us. All we've got is cotton and slaves......
..... and arrogance.
No, I'm not hinting. I'm saying plainly, the Yankees are better equipped than we. They've got factories, shipyards, coal mines and a fleet to bottle up our harbors and starve us. All we've got is cotton and slaves......
..... and arrogance.
ar·ro·gance
noun \ˈer-ə-gən(t)s, ˈa-rə-\
an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people.
At the time, that's all Rhett Butler had to say on the matter.
Will McAvoy, on the other hand, had one more thought to offer the assembled audience and, in particular, the moderator who had insisted on an answer to his question.
First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.
Enough?”
Clearly, from the news out of Isla Vista, California and the already wearying to the bone, seemingly endless, but obviously useless, discussion/debate/argument about the 2nd Amendment. the answer is, just as obviously.....
...not yet.
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