Blood of Patriots

America’s Problem

I resisted writing this essay.   With all of the craziness going on in American politics, for the Nation to actually come to grips with a “real” problem seems hopeless.  But the absolutely irony of what happened in Minneapolis this week is too great to ignore.

This is a far too familiar story, one unique to American life.  Children massed together, in school, at a church service.  A young, white person determines they are good “targets” for venting rage for whatever reason.   Shots fired:  children dead.

We struggle with the unfathomable grief of the parents and friends of the dead children.  We marvel at the stories:  the ten year-old whose best friend jumped on top of him to “take the hit”.  The fourteen year-old who marshaled his friends to safety under the pews.  The unlikely heroes who saved lives out of the strongest bond; the childhood duty of friendship.

Then, just like every other time for over a quarter of a century; we wring our hands, send out heartfelt thoughts and prayers, and go on about our lives.  This is an accepted part of our society, one that our Nation must condone.  How can that be?

Acceptance

Sure, you’re saying “It’s not accepted!  How dare I suggest such a thing?”  But if mass killing is not accepted, why aren’t we doing something about it?  Drunk driving, something that used to be “accepted” to the point that officers gave the offenders a ride home, now is seen as a heinous offense.  Need an example:  remember the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, picked up “inspecting the city”?  That attitude changed, because a single group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, made the loss of their loved ones to “accidents” unacceptable. Our national perception of the drunk behind the wheel went from a friendly ride, to opprobrium and jail.  

Marijuana use was “unacceptable”.  We arrested, jailed, and condemned the use of the drug for decades, ruining the users lives: “Reefer Madness”.  But now, twenty-four states have completely legalized its use, including here in Ohio.  What was a covert purchase in the shadows, now is a walk into an airy shop with different varieties of dope displayed on the shelves.  We changed our national perception of getting “high”.

And all of those “woke” things that MAGA-world rails against:  LGBTQ and DEI and the rest, were discriminated against and persecuted for generations.  In this same quarter century, we recognized that a free society should stop judging individual differences.  That’s up for question right now, as the current crowd tries to roll back those hard-won freedoms.  But, either way, we changed our perception of what individuals “can” be.

So, we can change.

Our Rights

The ultimate irony:  America sends its “Thoughts and Prayers” to those who were attacked while praying.  And when some made the suggestion that prayer wasn’t enough, the right wing media tried to make that the story:  “Minnesota bishop fires back after Mayor Frey knocks prayer…” (Fox News).  Of course, that’s just one more excuse, along with, “it’s too soon”, “we need to mourn the dead”, and “we HAVE OUR RIGHTS!!!”.

America has always been about balancing rights.  Justice Holmes made the point about the First Amendment; “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic” (Supreme Justia).  Justice Goldberg declared, “…for, while the Constitution protects against invasions of individual rights, it is not a suicide pact” (Supreme Justia).  So where does my “right” to own a high powered, multi-shot rifle get “tempered” by the blood of  8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, killed in prayer?

Oh, I know, this is a two-sided conversation.  Of course the shooter was mentally deranged.  This is the definition of derangement:  shooting through the stain-glassed window of a Catholic Church at children.  How we handle mental illness is one side of the “acceptance” argument.  Because it’s easier to get “physical ailments”, from broken bones to cancerous organs, diagnosed and treated, then it is to access mental health care.  That is part of the problem.

Their Blood

But the other part is simpler:  those guns are designed to kill humans.  Somehow, in our national psyche, they have become synonymous with “FREEDOM”, wrapped up with some Jeffersonian quote:  “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” (Monticello.org).  These guns aren’t for hunting, or protection; they are symbolic of FREEDOM.

So those kids in Minneapolis, were they patriots or tyrants?  Because they paid the price of the so-called “liberty” for us to own the weapons.  Their blood watered “the tree” of gun FREEDOM.  And since we won’t do anything about either side of the “coin”, I guess we then must accept and condone the outrage.  We’ve done it over and over and over and over again.  When will it be enough?  

Essays on Mass Shootings

Author: Marty Dahlman

I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.