Last week something terrible happened here in the U.S. Religious extremist violently attacked known unarmed people in San Bernadino, CA. Note, I could have said Muslim extremists, because they were Muslim, but that is not my point here. People had their living days on earth cut off, I will personally never understand why people die when they die--I am not God--but we can know how they died In this case, they died at the hands of religious extremists who see the world as a cosmic war of good vs. evil where they represent the good and everything else is evil. They died at the hands of intolerance, religious extremists are intolerant of all who do not accept their specific understanding of their specfic religion--hence Muslims extremists have killed as many Muslims as they have Atheists, Christians, Hindus, and Jews. Also I must truthfully say they died as a result of semi-automatic gunfire.
How should we react to such an event? I was taught by my dear ole dad (D.o.D) to react with common sense rather than fear--do not let fear or common sense stop you from doing what you want to do he often told me, which was his way of saying "think about it, don't be stupid." For my two cents, I have thought about it, and divide a few of the reactions into two categories, good and bad.
The good:
The U.S. House of Representatives is tightening restrictions on non-visa entry into the U.S. Currently we allow citizens of a number of countries with valid passports to enter the U.S. without a Visa if they are staying less than 90 days. The House passed a bill that would require a Visa for anyone who has traveled in a list of hot spots for extremist training and violence. This action is great, a real actual security measure that can be taken.
Rand Paul's reaction to Donald Trump (see below): in an interview with Katie Couric, Rand Paul stated that having a religious test for immigration and entry into the U.S. is wrong, stricter scrutiny is good. Paul did say (before some of you get angry) that it would be foolish not realize that there is a religious "aspect to the war" (his words). Again, I feel it more important to realize it is an extremist religious aspect and not representative of the vast majority, just as Timothy McVeigh was an extremist whose actions were not representative of all Christians.
The bad:
Gun Grabber talk/ammo panick talk. So the people used guns to shoot other people. So they used "military style" guns to shoot other people. So they possessed about 5000 rounds of ammo. Guns are tools, I am going to use an old statement that will not assuage the gun grabbers, but one that still remains true, "Guns do not kill anyone, people kill people". Tools can be used however we desire to use the tools, does taking away one tool mean that people cannot use other tools to complete their chosen task. Honestly, how many of you rednecks out there have hammered with whatever heavy object or metal object, or shoe, happened to be handy? How many of you have used a pocket knife as a screwdriver? In 2011, according to FBI crime statistics, more people were killed by hammers and clubs than by rifles (don't know about all guns, but rifles seems relevant as the San Bernadino shooters were using rifles--but again don't let common sense stop you from thinking whatever you want to think--thanks D.o.D).
Donald Trump. I could probably just stop with mentioning his name. The demand to stop all Muslims from entering the country is XENOPHOBIA plain and simple. Do not let fear run your life. Resist the urge to make hasty reactions to bad things. Sure, we all are alarmed that Muslim extremists just committed another act of terror in the U.S. But, the answer is not to ban all Muslims from entering the country--since when do we punish the innocent for the acts of the guilty (ok, aside from the fact that the U.S. people pay for the acts of Congress and the President regularly, and back in the day the whole class got a swat from the paddle because a few people were talking). Do we not still hold to the principle of justice that says all people are innocent until proven guilty?
How should we react to such an event? I was taught by my dear ole dad (D.o.D) to react with common sense rather than fear--do not let fear or common sense stop you from doing what you want to do he often told me, which was his way of saying "think about it, don't be stupid." For my two cents, I have thought about it, and divide a few of the reactions into two categories, good and bad.
The good:
The U.S. House of Representatives is tightening restrictions on non-visa entry into the U.S. Currently we allow citizens of a number of countries with valid passports to enter the U.S. without a Visa if they are staying less than 90 days. The House passed a bill that would require a Visa for anyone who has traveled in a list of hot spots for extremist training and violence. This action is great, a real actual security measure that can be taken.
Rand Paul's reaction to Donald Trump (see below): in an interview with Katie Couric, Rand Paul stated that having a religious test for immigration and entry into the U.S. is wrong, stricter scrutiny is good. Paul did say (before some of you get angry) that it would be foolish not realize that there is a religious "aspect to the war" (his words). Again, I feel it more important to realize it is an extremist religious aspect and not representative of the vast majority, just as Timothy McVeigh was an extremist whose actions were not representative of all Christians.
The bad:
Gun Grabber talk/ammo panick talk. So the people used guns to shoot other people. So they used "military style" guns to shoot other people. So they possessed about 5000 rounds of ammo. Guns are tools, I am going to use an old statement that will not assuage the gun grabbers, but one that still remains true, "Guns do not kill anyone, people kill people". Tools can be used however we desire to use the tools, does taking away one tool mean that people cannot use other tools to complete their chosen task. Honestly, how many of you rednecks out there have hammered with whatever heavy object or metal object, or shoe, happened to be handy? How many of you have used a pocket knife as a screwdriver? In 2011, according to FBI crime statistics, more people were killed by hammers and clubs than by rifles (don't know about all guns, but rifles seems relevant as the San Bernadino shooters were using rifles--but again don't let common sense stop you from thinking whatever you want to think--thanks D.o.D).
Donald Trump. I could probably just stop with mentioning his name. The demand to stop all Muslims from entering the country is XENOPHOBIA plain and simple. Do not let fear run your life. Resist the urge to make hasty reactions to bad things. Sure, we all are alarmed that Muslim extremists just committed another act of terror in the U.S. But, the answer is not to ban all Muslims from entering the country--since when do we punish the innocent for the acts of the guilty (ok, aside from the fact that the U.S. people pay for the acts of Congress and the President regularly, and back in the day the whole class got a swat from the paddle because a few people were talking). Do we not still hold to the principle of justice that says all people are innocent until proven guilty?
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