Rights Responsibility and Freedom

I have grown weary this past week in the wake of the horror of Sandy Hook of the continued assertions of gun rights. Firstly, you will not find a person more a champion of personal rights and freedom than I. I have always maintained in fact, that it is not guns that kill people but people that kill people. This remains true. However, we cannot deny that we have a tragic trend in our

current culture of mass random shootings, this requires a serious and effective response. We must also remember that the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness preceded the right to bear arms and remains tantamount, any right that interferes with that basic fundamental one must be reevaluated.

It is true that criminals will always have guns, they typically acquire them illegally and always will. It is important to note that nearly all of the weapons used in recent years for mass shootings have been legally obtained.

Furthermore, most agree that in the past few decades we have seen a widespread increase in rudeness and bad behavior. A decrease in patience, courtesy and tolerance. A significant lack of respect for parents, authority and meaningful values.

We like to talk a lot about our rights in this country but we seem to forget that with rights come responsibility: Responsibility balances and enables rights. To enjoy our rights and freedoms we must act responsibly and address the underlying issues that lead to a culture that has developed such a disturbing trend. That being said we have some serious questions to answer and major adjustments to make.

• Are we raising our children to be compassionate and kind with strong coping skills, tolerance and respect for others property and life?


• Are we treating people with mental illness properly and providing resources, facilities and support for them and the families caring for them.


• Are we doing all we can in the legal sale of weapons to ensure that only responsible, stable people obtain them and hold those people accountable for the safe and secure use and storage of those weapons?


• After the removal of religious teaching in schools have we replaced that with other ethical and moral instruction?


• Are we mindful of what our young people are exposed to? Most witness both real and dramatic video violence numbering in the thousands before they graduate high school. How long will we continue to deny this has an impact on their developing impressionable minds?


• Are we modeling kindness, tolerance and patience and treating others, even strangers with respect and dignity?

If we are honest we fall far short.

Parent or not we all bear responsibility for the climate of our culture and can all effect positive change starting with our own behavior. For all of us to enjoy the fundamental right of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness we must become responsible when we do we can all fully enjoy all the other rights this country provides.

There is no way to make sense of the murder and carnage at Sandy Hook. It has robbed those families of their most precious thing their children and loved ones. But it also robbed the survivors of innocence and the belief we all need that the the world is a good and safe place.

I pray that out of this we will finally wake up and use this horrendous act as an impetus to make the changes we have needed for years.

The solutions to all violence and crime in our society as well as the other issues of social decay are multifaceted and complex but begin with simple individual steps we can each take.

How can you be part of the solution?