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Thursday, June 16, 2016

What Would Edmund Burke Do?

I admit that I have a very shallow knowledge of world history and I have less than dabbled in political science.  Amidst my very short forays into thinking about why things happen the way they do, I came across Edmund Burke.  He is most frequently quoted as saying that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.  He is also the man who argued that while he supported the American Revolution, he thought the French Revolution was doomed to fail.  And he was right on both counts.  His letter on why revolutions fail is a quick read, but should have been used as a guide to our military actions in Iraq.  Now I understand the saying that those who do not study (and heed the lessons of) history are doomed to repeat it.

So, where do we stand post-Orlando?  We have a public health emergency related to gun deaths in our country.  If you own a gun you are 9 times more likely to kill yourself and 10 times more likely to die of a gunshot wound.  Guns are more dangerous to their owners and the families of their owners than to anyone else.  We have a Congress that is bought and paid for by the gun lobby.  We have assault rifles for sale legally.  It is overwhelming, the problem is so vast.
So, what to do?  I have been writing to my senator weekly about the lack of hearings for the Supreme Court nominee, so I can include this, but what would be most effective?  What is needed to move forward?  That is what I do not know.

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