Won't Happen!

Two mass shootings in a week.  Another "Only in America" headline.  And immediately, there is a chorus of voices calling for gun control.  They range from little things, like background checks, to really important measures like getting rid of assault weapons.

Seems like we've heard this song before.  For decades, common sense has argued that we do something, anything, to slow down this ongoing carnage.  And for decades common sense has been defeated by the gun lobby.

In the olden days, pre 2012, I had hope that the good guys would win.  But my hope turned to despair after the Sandy Hook massacre.  If killing 20 little kids wasn't enough to move politicians into action, nothing was going to do it. 

And it wasn't enough.  20 dead innocents senselessly slaughtered wasn't enough.  Cries of anguish yielded nothing.  So what will happen now, with 18 dead in Atlanta and Boulder?  Nothing.  Sorry to say it, but the gun people will win again.  

Gun control in this land of ours?  Won't Happen!

Opening!

It's like a growing wave.  Every day in many ways the country is opening up.  In California as we move to a new tier we open up more.  In Texas they're wide open.  And everything in between.

So this is a good thing, right?  People want their freedom.  Let's get back to normal, they say.  And the politicians respond.  Science be damned, enough is enough.  I want my freedom back.  It is, indeed, a growing wave of public opinion.

Only one problem: What if it's too soon?  What if we're leaving ourselves open to a new surge?  What if we're giving the variants a chance to get ahead of our current vaccine efficacy?  What if we're letting impatience win over common sense?  What if . . .?

All this should come as no surprise.  Delayed gratification isn't one of our strongest human traits.  Daddy, I want what I want and I want it now.  So opening it will be.

And we shall see if we win this game of Russian roulette.  Good luck to us all!