I received this quote from a
friend of a friend: “People who blame
others have not begun their lesson. People who blame themselves have begun
their lesson. Those who blame no one have finished their lesson.”
AA oldtimers state that the
easiest way to forgive is simply not to blame in the first place. Blame
involves fear, anger and the attempt to deflect a perceived attack on you
(which becomes an attack from you).
Those emotional states reflect the exact opposite of Love, Acceptance, Peace,
and Joy, which are the internal states of living I wish for each of you in
2016.
In light of this quote and my
comments about fear, anger and blame, I want to share the following message.
This is an article that was distributed by the U/U Church in Brevard, NC as a
message for the 2015 holiday season. Our friends in Brevard sent this to us. I
want to share it with you.
During 2016, we need to begin
seeing the fear in ourselves.
Guns Don't Kill People -
Americans Kill People
By Michael Moore, The
Hollywood Reporter
22
December 15
When Hamlet debuted on the stage of the Globe
Theater in May of 1600, a funny thing happened — no one went home and killed
their uncle. In fact, in the weeks and months afterward, there was no rash of
uncle killings throughout London. The same thing had happened over two thousand
years earlier — after the debut of Oedipus Rex, thousands of Greeks (as far as
we can tell) did not go home and have sex with their mothers.
With the recent spate of mass shootings — at the community college in
Oregon, the Planned Parenthood in Colorado and the county building in San
Bernardino — the debate has begun anew, like it has ever since the tragedy at
Columbine High School in 1999: do we need stricter gun laws, and do we need to
decrease the violence we show in the movies and on TV, as a way to help prevent
these tragedies?
There is no question that fewer guns will result in fewer gun deaths.
This has been proven in every country that has decided to decrease or remove
guns from civilian ownership. In the 1980s and '90s, Australia had a series of
mass shootings, including an awful one at a school in Port Arthur. The
conscience of the country was so moved by that slaughter — that's right,
"slaughter," like the slaughter in Colorado Springs, the slaughter in
San Bernardino, etc. — that Australia outlawed nearly all guns. Total number of
school shootings since that law passed: zero.
Less guns also mean less successful suicides. It should be pointed out
that over half of the nearly 30,000 gun deaths each year in this country are
from suicide. If you want to make sure you will die by your own hand, using a
gun is the tried and true way to accomplish such a task. But many who attempt
suicide don't really want to die, and by using pills or even slashing their
wrists there's usually a greater that 50% chance that they will live, that
someone will save them. There's not much saving going on when there's a bullet hole
in one's head.
The other pertinent fact regarding gun-related homicides is that more
than 60% of murders involve people who know each other — usually it's a
domestic situation between spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends or family members.
An argument breaks out and somebody "loses it" and goes and grabs the
gun. If guns in these heated situations had not been so easily accessible, many
deaths would have been avoided.
We will probably never be able to rid ourselves of the more than
quarter-billion guns that are in our homes. But any effort to reduce this
number would reduce the level of killing.
Unfortunately, even if we had stronger gun laws, we would still have a
few thousand gun deaths in this country. That's because we have a problem no
law can solve. Canada has strict gun laws, but they also have an estimated five
million hunting rifles and shotguns in their homes — and they don't go and
shoot each other on a daily basis like we do. In 2013, they had a total of 131
gun murders in a nation of 35 million people. We have nine times their
population, but fifty-fives times their gun killings. How can this be?
Which brings us to Hollywood. I don't think I'm making any big
revelation here when I point out that the Canadian kids (and adults) are
watching the same exact violent movies, playing the same exact violent video
games and watching the same exact violent TV shows as their neighbors, the
Americans. So why don't their students—other than on the rare, rare
occasion—continually walk into their high schools and colleges and start firing
away? It's not that the Canadians don't get angry—have you even been to a
hockey game? You cannot say that violent Hollywood movies somehow magically
affect only American youth, but no one else. The Japanese cannot get enough of
blood and gore in movies, ours and their own. Total number of gun murders in
Japan in 2012: three.
So what is it about us? It's clear that the NRA is actually half-right
in their slogan, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." We
just need to modify that to: "Guns don't kill people—Americans kill
people."
It's not the movies or the video games or the gruesome crime scene
photos on CSI that drive us Americans to kill each other. It's fear. Why would
one want to own a gun in the first place? Well, fear of being robbed or
assaulted or killed. Wanting to protect yourself or your family. You know,
"just in case."
But in case of what? Remember, the statistics show that the most
dangerous threat to you is sitting over there on the couch right now. We have
nearly 123 million homes in the US. There are only about 600 home invasions
here each year that result in a gun-related death. And in nearly half of those
incidents, the deceased was killed by the gun that was in the house to protect
... the deceased!
It's the fear of getting killed that is getting a lot of us killed. But
it's also other fears that are winding us up and making a few of us go crazy
enough to take off on a shooting rampage. Unlike in other civilized countries
where people take care of each other—with free health care, generous
compensation for the unemployed, free or nearly-free college education, strict
laws on credit card debt and junk mortgages, serious help and treatment for the
mentally ill, aid for aging and infirm people and the list goes on and on. From
Ireland to Italy to Norway, from New Zealand to South Korea to Morocco,
governments all over the world have discovered that the real way to reduce
violence is to simply take care of each other.
What separates us from everyone else is the way we force the members of
our society to live in a constant state of fear: fear of going broke, fear of
losing your job, fear of getting sick, fear of getting old and being without.
We know that there's no safety net for us here in the USA. We are the
"pull yourself up by your bootstraps" nation, the "you take care
of yours and I'll take care of mine" and the "your problems are not
my problems" society. Most of us find a way to cope with all of this. We
suck it up and take the ulcer for the team. But then there are the few that
can't. And with easy access to any kind of gun—and as much ammo as they
want—they find a way to act out their frustration and aggression. Not because
they saw Kill Bill. But because they live in the home of the brave. That is
something we can change.
But first, it will require some of that "bravery."
As I said earlier, we need to
begin seeing the enormous amount of fear in ourselves, as well as the fear we
are being subjected to. I received a Christmas card from the president of
Princeton Theological Seminary this season. The cover was a nice picture of
their family, including their dogs. The inside message simply stated: “Fear
not….” [Luke 1:30]
Quite a profound and apt message
for all of us as this year comes to a close.
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#4 Dec 2015
Copyright 2015
