There are two kinds of people. Except now there are three.
The first kind was taught what today seems a simple,
uncomplicated set of rules. They had right and wrong. They had good and bad.
They had rules intended for everyone. And if you followed the rules, things
were supposed to work out, and if you didn’t, well then there were those
repercussions.
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor’s ass. Work hard, save your money, don’t lie, do the right
thing, honor your country. By and large the folks I knew followed these rules,
and the rules held the place together. The people who broke the rules were
punished, mostly by the folks who followed the rules, but also by simple
reality. Shame on the rule breakers.
Then came the 60’s and a second kind of people showed up.
This group I know well. We looked at the simple, uncomplicated set of rules and
wondered why we should follow them. And we were taught, by some new people we
looked up to, that it would be OK. What harm was there in bending some of these
rules, if ya know, nobody got hurt? We looked at all those social constraints
that suddenly seemed so burdensome. Obviously we still figured that thou shalt
not kill and thou shalt not steal, but what was the harm in coveting thy neighbor’s
ass? Heck, that might be fun, and what was the problem, if nobody got hurt? So
a blur infused the rules, which drove the right and wrong folks to distraction.
The nation will come to an end if you don’t follow the rules, ya know.
Only it didn’t. End, that is. Changed a mite, but didn’t
end. Not yet, anyway. Oh sure it slid a bit downhill, but somehow the nation
still hangs around. Some would say that the nation survives only because a few
people still follow that old outdated set of right and wrong rules, and they
carry on their backs the rest who are off doing what feels good, so the roof
doesn’t fall in. The nation has more leaks, more rust, more dusty corners, but
it is still hanging around.
That group who favor if it feels good, do it, would say that
the reason the nation is still afloat is that those things like thou shalt not
steal and thou shalt not kill are still dissuaded. We can have lots of fun as
long as nobody gets hurt. We’ll be fine. But now there is another voice out
there.
My first brush with the third type of people happened only a
few years ago. And lately I’ve heard from them time and again. It seems much of
an entire generation now embraces a new view.
Those who read my occasional essay will recall the recent
discussion of the wholesale slaughter on the streets of Chicago, and the
glorious attempt of a blogger to isolate the issues driving that violence so it
might soon cease. The blog author made it very clear that we were not to
consider anything the folks participating in and victimized by this violence
were doing which might have caused it. Nope, none of that was relevant to the
discussion. According to the author, the entire cause of the violence on the
streets was that outdated 2nd Amendment and the evil people who
support it, and clearly this nonsense must end.
I recall my amazement when this person completely dismissed
the contribution of the folks who didn’t follow the thou shalt not kill and
thou shalt not steal stuff. Because I thought those rules were important. She
stated that they should be excused from that requirement, that it wasn’t their
fault. Heck, we can’t even call this criminal behavior anymore, for it’s not
their fault. The murderers are the innocent victims now.
Nope, the horror here isn’t the terror and destruction
brought about by these people. The horror here is that some horridly misguided
people believe that defending themselves against the danger these people bring
is OK, and the entire blame for the violence resides with these misguided
folks.
Any discussion about criminal behavior is now opposed by a
section of our populace who dismiss any assignment of blame to the people
committing the crimes. It is no longer the criminals’ fault, but the fault of
all the non-criminal folks. We made them do this. We are not even any longer to
refer to these people as criminals. This dehumanizes them, and disrespects
them.
Funny how some of
the same people who taught my generation that if it feels good we should do it
are still around teaching our children this new lesson.
A state representative in Colorado spoke up recently,
answering a young woman who was understandably upset with her inability to
defend herself when she was brutally raped on a college campus. The campus was
a gun free zone to protect the feelings of people who do not like guns, so she
had dutifully left her firearm in her car to attend class. She was within feet
of her car when her assailant, who somehow forgot to leave his gun behind,
caught her. The state representative dismissed her assertion that she might
have defended herself, stating that he figured she’d just hurt some innocent
bystander the next time she is raped. He suggested that next time she vomit or
pee on the guy, and (don’t call him) a criminal would lose interest and go
elsewhere. Yeah, that will work.
Another woman, a policy maker working for our president,
commented on this crime. Her suggestion was that we needed to teach men not to
rape. This would solve the problem. Wasn’t the fault of the rapist at all, for
we didn’t teach him right (and wrong?) and the young victim has no right to defend herself, particularly
if her intent was to hurt the poor man.
Oh, this rapist assaulted two other women before he was
caught. The last one he killed. But it wasn’t his fault. He just never got the
memo.
This is all familiar. Only a few years ago, as that bunch in
Europe attempted to get our government to sign a treaty that would essential
nullify the 2nd Amendment, a similar discussion took place. A woman
representing the disarmament group was asked if any woman has a moral right to
defend herself against a rapist. This woman’s response was to suggest that the
woman should live in a place where violence won’t happen. Who can argue with
logic like that?
Perhaps if women cannot move to such a place, they should
learn to relax and enjoy it.
That bunch in Europe donates a considerable sum of money to
influence the political process in this country. I’ll give ya three guesses
which side gets the money. And they are continuously bent on undoing our Constitution.
Meanwhile, the president’s supporters argue that we should excuse criminals, or
whatever we are allowed to call them these days, and instead disarm the folks
who follow the thou shalt not kill/steal rules. Makes ya wonder, don’t it?
The folks who favor the old good and bad, right and wrong
rules are fading away. The if it feels good do it folks are stumbling around
wondering why kill and steal is no longer a bad thing. And a new bunch is
sliding into control of this country. Group number three. They of course will
see to it that crime and violence simply disappears. They promise. Forgetting
the criminals, or whatever we can call them, is needed in order to punish those
folks truly at fault for all the crime and violence in this country…you and me.
That’s why Holder said the president needs his propaganda
program for instance, to change how people think about crime and violence, and
the good people with guns who cause it. It’s working real well on group three.
This is how you go about disarming the good guys when they really don’t need to
be disarmed.
But you watch. When the people driving group number 3 get
their way, I’ll just bet there will be a whole new bunch of right and wrong
rules, for history suggests this will always happen, and you all better not try
any of the if it feels good do it nonsense on these folks.
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