Wednesday, January 12, 2011

No Guns Within 1000 Feet

In response and reaction to the horror of this past week's shooting rampage, some are suggesting that new laws be enacted that prohibit guns from being with 1000 feet of a Member of Congress. Great idea. But I also don’t want guns to be within 1000 feet of me, or my loved ones, or any of my friends, or even any of my enemies. So why don’t I get the same protection? Am I just not worth what a Member of Congress is worth?

Of course not. I’m not famous. I’m not important. No one wants to shoot an obscure pastor who serves a small church in a small community in Texas. That’s a relief to know that. But still--I really would like not to have guns anywhere near me, just in case.

I believe it is the “just in case” that is going to completely shut us down as a people. We are losing our courage and think we can legislate our way to a safe and secure society. From naked body scanners to numbers tattooed on foreheads, society has been trying to years to build complete safety into our world. But we can’t legislate away mental illness and violent thoughts.  

However, I think I have the solution. We should just go ahead and just put everyone in prison prophylactically. That should solve the problem. No more guessing. No more uncertainly. Just keep everyone behind bars.

What do I mean, you say? Think of it this way: it is just like birth control: do something on the front end to prevent the pregnancy, so there is no worry later about an unwanted event. 

Perfect safely means that everyone needs to be locked up all the time. Of course, a few privileged people get to be the jailers and the ruling elite. But if they will keep everyone else tightly behind bars, letting us out only for assigned breeding periods and to do the work necessary to keep the elite comfortable and safe, all problems are solved.

Voila, the utopia has arrived!

1 comment:

Angie Hammond said...

Ok, don't be so sure that you are not important just because you are as you put it an obscure pastor who serves in a small church in a small community in Texas. Someone could decide that they didn't like you and you too could be headline material even though you are not important.

As for guns being the problem, anything can be a weapon and kill so I don't worry so much about guns as I worry about the minds behind them.

I've often said we can't legislate morality and you seem to say something like it when you say that we are shutting us down as a people with the just in case attitudes creating new laws to protect.

I appreciate your rant here, but wanted to say that I don't believe we would have as many problems if we spent more time as families learning to love each other in Christ like manners.

Perhaps instead of closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out, we really need to be working on building a better barn. That is to say if we spent as much time on building better relationships within our own families then maybe we wouldn't have shooters going on rampages.

Of course Jesus offered this type of world, but he did say we had to pick up our cross and follow him.
We do this and then leave the rest up to him.

One other thought. John the Baptist was an obscure preacher who dressed funny ate honey and locusts and lived in the desert, but he was pretty important.
You know I'm just saying don't put yourself down as not important.