United we stand, divided we fall, and, my friends, it is a long way down!
I was wondering — and wandering — the other day and for the life of me couldn’t figure out why we can’t all be correct when it comes to our opinions.
Republicans, Democrats, Independents, I don’t give a damns....and anyone and everyone else that has an opinion — which is everyone. Why can’t our opinion be correct if it is just that, our opinion. Who cares what other people think? Right?
My real Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary — the paper one on the bookshelf that I reference quite frequently, but perhaps didn’t reference quite enough in college — defines an opinion as, 1: a view, judgement, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter; 2: belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge; 3: a formal expression by an expert of his judgement or advice.
So, for example, if I say the skunk in the road Monday morning between the office and my house was hit by a vehicle, that is a fact not an opinion. The skunk is dead, it is in the road, and it is flat. It was hit by a vehicle. Fact!
On the other hand, lots of folks — especially these days — say “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” That is an opinion. It is an opinion that probably about 50 percent of the population agrees with, and about 50 percent of the population disagrees with.
It is not like that skunk in the road. I wish it were that simple.
It is my opinion that guns kill people when the wrong people have guns, and my fear is that this vicious cycle isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
I hate to admit it, but I have no idea how many law enforcement officers have been killed recently in the line of duty in this country. Shot. Murdered. Children left without a parent. Lives shattered. Just last week in Greenville, Mississippi was the latest incident, I believe.
If guns don’t kill people, then people with guns sure do, and more often than ever before.
So, what are we going to do?
Don’t read this the wrong way. I own a couple of side arms and a shotgun. I like target practice and I’m a pretty good shot if I do say so myself. A certified sharp shooter with a rifle, believe it or not.
Or used to be. That was years and years ago, but I do still have my certificate.
These days my guns are pretty much locked away. The shotgun is in its case on the top shelf of my closet where it has been since the fall of early 1980-something when I went squirrel hunting for the last time. I’ve thought about going squirrel hunting in the backyard a few times recently and might have to go squirrel hunting in the attic this fall, but that is another story for another day.
I do believe our Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. And if, God forbid, I were ever in a position where I thought I had to use one of my weapons to protect me, or my family, or my friends, I have no doubt that I would, and could, do so. I would hope I could draw upon my skill from years ago and make an educated decision. But, until we are in that position, I don’t think any of us actually know how we will react.
Guns do kill people. In the wrong hands, guns do kill people. That is not an opinion, in my opinion, that is a fact. You have every right to agree or disagree. Either way, the more pressing matter is not whether it is the guns doing the killing, or the people doing the killing, it is the fact that there is a whole lot of killing going on. A whole lot of killing...period.
The fact of the matter is that last week a person, or persons, with a gun, or guns, did kill a high school senior, in Lake, Mississippi, in the prime of his life.
That is a fact. A terrible, horrible, undeniable fact.
Now, what are we going to do about it? United, what are we going to do? What are we going to do before the next young person falls? Before the next person falls? I don’t have the answers, but I know in my heart it is a fact that we’ve all got to come together and find an answer.
And, we have got to do it soon!
