The Violent Song Remains the Same

I hate doing this. I hate having to write about this, again.



But here we are, once again. This time, Parkland, Florida. This time, 17 dead. This time, students of the school predicted it. This time, on one of the safer cities in the state. This time, using similar guns used in other recent mass shootings including those in California and Nevada. And this time, once again, a gun control debate brewing from underneath the carnage and blood. One side is begging to change the guns laws, the other side firmly believes it is pointless. Truth is, I have been screaming this for a decade and a half and the longer I live in the United States, the more it looks like until the entire culture can change, the guns laws will forever remain the same.

Let’s start with my basic beliefs: everyone has the right to own a gun, but there should be heavy background checks, there should be an extensive education program concerning firearms, there should be continuous checkups, people on the no-fly or mentally ill list should not own one unless they can pass a trial by jury, and assault rifles as well as enhancements created to turn guns into automatics should be completely banned. Let me go a step further, once a week select police stations across the country should be allowed to accept guns of ANY kind from ANYBODY without any questions asked and without IDing the person turning in the weapons so at least we have fewer unwanted weapons out in the streets. It really isn’t that hard: you can own a gun, you just have to pass all the checkmarks and you cannot own anything that can launch dozens of bullets per second----there is no reason whatsoever to own one of these.

Yet, this is the United States of America. This country has always been a unique one for a variety of ways but one of its standout personality traits is its glorification and celebration of violence while being quite taboo on the subject of sex. It makes sense though, after all America was founded on violence (Revolution), became large and powerful because of violence (Manifest Destiny, Wild, Wild West), was nearly torn apart because of cultural shifts which led to violence (Civil War), and became a mighty superpower as well as part of the global police because of violence (World War 1 and 2). America was always ahead of the pack with weaponry, and it’s been this way since the Civil War. Battles between the Union and the Confederacy were also spectator sports, and then today the most popular sport by far is American football----which has a setup similar to a war in terms of battling for territory. It’s in the DNA, it’s in the American bloodstreams.

The NRA controls the pockets of most of the politicians, as Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and even George W. Bush were battling for stricter gun laws but were met with tons of resistance. Even Bush’s father left the NRA because he believed they became too ridiculous. So no, this isn’t a political debate, this dwells deeper than who is president. But the NRA can’t remain powerful and a silent force without the help of millions that refuse to see the other side of the coin concerning gun control. The other side refuses to see countries like England, Australia, Norway, Canada, and Japan improve public safety with their gun restrictions and regulations. They refuse to see the statistics of the mammoth rise in mass gun violence, instead pointing to the decrease in overall violence in recent years. You can’t change what refuses to change.

I can dwell deeper into numbers but you already know them. I can toss in more statistics about America’s top dog placement in mass shootings and school violence but you already have seen them. There is way too much information that suggests that something, anything needs to be done to at the very least cut the bleeding, but if you have been against gun control from the start and you weren’t rattled by the shootings in nightclubs, concerts, schools, and churches, I doubt I can sway you at this damn point. At this point, you are being ignorant to the issue if you believe that nothing can be done. And even if the results remain the same, at the very least trying to make changes is enough of an improvement over the inactivity of recent years.




Let me remind all of you, Obama pretty much predicted the Pulse shooting during a PBS roundtable discussion about gun control---he knew of people visiting ISIS websites, was able to ensure that they can’t fly, but can STILL purchase a gun. How, in, the, hell, is, that, okay??? This was back in 2016, Pulse happened, and STILL nothing was able to be done. We had the Vegas shooter buy up enough guns and ammo to house a small army, and that STILL wasn’t enough. Now we have a man potentially “diagnosed with Autism” (which to me remains a smokescreen) that owned an AK even after constant threats and calls from the police, and we STILL disagree on background checks and gun control. There’s no stone left to turn in terms of trying to convince half of America on this, their minds are set and no matter how many shootings we have in 2018 (which by the way we are nearly averaging a mass shooting per day), they don’t want to see the restrictions in place. After Columbine, you could make the argument. After Parkland, there really is no excuse.

But its in the American culture, its in the bloodline. Guns have been imprinted in American history, American culture, American traditions, and American values. It is the second amendment, and there’s nothing we can do to change the outdated laws until the culture is warped, until the mindset of an entire nation that glorifies the almighty bullet can finally adjust to the problems clearly at hand. I do not blame the Parkland shooting itself on a specific president, on an administration, or a government, but I do blame them for not doing enough and not at least trying to start the conversation---especially this current administration for removing restrictions that would prevent the mentally ill from buying a gun.

As a mere citizen, I don’t have all the answers, I don’t have all the solutions. But at the same time I don’t have the access to information the government has, nor do I have the ability to implement the changes necessary. But we need to change, period. And the longer we prolong this obviously necessary change, the more it shows how ignorant this country has truly become.

From November to November [Chapter 4 of 4]

This is a four chapter piece about the year since the 2016 American election that has changed everything, from the upset win to the current political climate Americans face today.  



The Final Chapter:

Me




November 2016 was the nail in the coffin for what was probably the worst year in my life. And it was more than just the election, it was all the tragedies we experienced, all the hatred that has revitalized itself and became public, and just seeing a hopeless situation look even more hopeless. Bernie Sanders was my man, remains my man, and has completely changed my views on my personal politics and ultimately all the political parties. Now the Republican Party reveals themselves to whether be racist or okay with racism or just selfish enough to never truly care about anyone outside their social circle---with gun control, refugees, immigration, and treatment of Puerto Rico being the defining examples. In the meantime, the Democratic Party has become a very angry party full of inner bickering and backstabbing, from Hillary’s book to Warren and Brizile making wild claims about Hillary’s money diluting the fairness of the primaries.

And for the record, I won’t say the DNC was rigged, but it was severely in favor of Hillary from the beginning, and nobody else had a shot (Poor Martin O’Malley). And of course, the third-party, the Green party, the Libertarian Party, they are all jokes. Well-meaning, but still jokes. Jill Stein saying Hillary is just as bad as Trump is about as ridiculous a statement as you can make. But that’s the past, and I am doing my best to look ahead.

Ahead is simple: continue to battle Trump’s ridiculous policies, continue to help out the Hispanic community (which has become completely ignored by Trump and the Republicans), and of course prepare for the next election which should allow for many important changes and more parity in Washington D.C. And if come 2020 we don’t have Bernie running, then I just might consider third-party, for the first time, who knows? All I do know is American politics has become a mess and needs some serious changes.

We need Obama’s ability to listen to both sides of the debate. Obama listened to both sides before signing off on his Obamacare, and although it’s far from perfect it’s a step in the right direction. We need Sanders’ energy about redistributing the wealth, as we are the richest country not named China yet don’t spend enough of it on important things like education, farming, climate change, and agriculture. Let me reiterate this again: Bernie Sanders says we need to save Puerto Rico, and I completely agree with him, as the United States has messed up that island for far too long. Bail them out, fix the business and importing laws, and give Puerto Rico more freedom to be its own entity.

We need Hillary’s fight to bring women and men closer together in terms of respect and of course working wages. We need Trump’s impeachment if we have enough evidence of the Russia collusion. Not saying we have enough now, but there’s enough smoking so that the paperwork can get started. Lastly we need to unite as a country and not just as two political parties under the same roof. We need to listen better, so that we can make improvements in gun control, taxes, and of course universal health. We just need to stop being divided, stop being overly offended, and try to collectively become a better society. Please.

2016 Election wasn’t the end of the world, but was a Pandora’s Box for a lot of ugliness that we would not have experienced if Hillary had won, and especially if Bernie had won. Hopefully we can learn from this and move towards a better America.





P.S. Hollywood, collectively you’ve become hypocritical scum, and I’m highly disappointed in the culture you’ve created.

From November to November [Chapter 3 of 4]

This is a four chapter piece about the year since the 2016 American election that has changed everything, from the upset win to the current political climate Americans face today.


Chapter Three:
Green:
The Hopeless Option







The 2016 election was the best opportunity for a third-party candidate to rise from the ashes and try to mess up the race and finally get some recognition. But how can you even compete in an election if nobody respects you? How can you debate against the other major candidates if you aren’t invited? How can you spread your message if you don’t have the money? Third-party candidates should use unconventional methods to compete, and it didn’t happen. Bernie Sanders knows his chances while lingering with the green party was quite slim, which is why he joined and unexpectedly crippled the Democratic Party. Nonetheless, there are some great ideas that came from his campaign that could help a presidential candidate that isn’t associated with Blue or Red.

For starters, Bernie Sanders did not accept massive donations from any company or large American presence. The money he raised felt legit, it felt like it came from interested people as opposed to people with specific interests. Second off, his fans did the homework, research, and were spreading the word through social media better than the Trumpsters and the Hillary Crew. Social media can be your most powerful asset to spreading your message, and social media is far less expensive than having to tour the country and make multiple stops to talk to people. You might be missing the personal touch, but as a third-party your options are limited and you have to space the cash out enough to be able to compete in debates and compete against the Red/Blue combo when election season is in full swing. Election season is more expensive than ever, so you need to be money-savvy otherwise you’ll run out of cash before you can build momentum.

Imagine building a YouTube and Instagram page of your political campaign, where you continuously update your progress and constantly discuss the issues that most pertain to you. Bernie Sanders has a podcast, and it’s one of the most successful in ITunes. Imagine building an official Facebook page about your party, and allowing everyone to join in and establish a community. The independent movement is rising exponentially, and has been for a long time, ultimately being a bigger force than the Democrats or the Republicans. The issue is, they wind up picking one of the two, knowing that a third-party vote is a waste. In order for third-party candidates to have a chance, they have to bridge this gap between supporting wild card candidate and actually winning a state, let alone an election.



It is going to take multiple elections, and will require people other than what we already have like Jill Stein and Gary Johnson (who both even with the odds fumbled several times in their campaigns) to achieve the opportunity to break the Red/Blue streak that has been going on since the 1860s. Bernie Sanders could have been that combo breaker, but at the time didn’t want to risk Trump winning the election so he sent his support to Hillary to ensure a smooth transition (Plot Twist: Didn’t happen). We don’t know where this new voice will come from, but new voices are definitely needed to fix many of the issues plaguing this country and plaguing the current political arena.


To Be Continued:
The Final Chapter.....