The Killing of Americans

It is difficult to say what it will take to change the minds and hearts of Americans when it comes to gun control and protecting our children. It is also difficult to say what is it that makes many of us so afraid and what it will take to eliminate those fears. Make no mistake about it many Americans are truly afraid, and their fears are killing our children every day. There have been over 130 school shootings in just the first three months of this year and nothing is done about gun control.

There are several reasons why Americans mainly older white men are afraid all the time. One reason is that they are unwilling to be exposed to alternative information sources or views this limited view only makes them feel more afraid to the point of being cowards.

They only expose themselves to fear-mongering rhetoric from conservative media outlets. This rhetoric makes them feel like the world is a dangerous place and that they need to be constantly on guard.
Another reason why Americans might be afraid is that they are often told that they are under attack from a variety of sources, including liberals, immigrants, Muslims, and now even our neighbors. This makes them feel like they are in a constant state of war and that they need to defend themselves all the time.

Finally, many Americans might be afraid because they are often told by their elected leader that their way of life is under attack even though this is not true. This makes many of us feel like we need to fight to preserve our way of life, by owning guns.
Why are many of us willing to ban books but not assault-type weapons that kill? The reason is we are being lied to by many of the leaders that tell us books and learning can be harmful to children. I have yet to hear of a young child dying from reading. But every year hundreds of our kids die from assault-type weapons that are designed for the battlefield, not our neighborhoods.

Those leaders who are lying to us are simply more concerned about themselves and their political futures than the potential for violence to our children from assault-type weapons.

It is difficult to say what it will take to change the minds of so many Americans on the issue of gun control. We need to expose ourselves to more information about the world around us and to different ways of thinking. We also need to learn that we are not under attack and that our way of life is not under threat unless our neighbor has a gun and is willing to use it against us or our children.
Let’s stop being afraid stop the senseless killings and demand from our leaders’ comprehensive gun control today not tomorrow.

By William Scott