The Conservative Edge

I’ve been reading the horror stories coming from communities all across America. People are losing their minds. It seems that either domestic trouble, or the stress of financial problems, are causing many individuals to lose the ability to deal with reality. When these persons snap, they do so in a drastic and violent manner.

Just today, I have read about the man in Graham, Washington who killed his five children and then committed suicide. He apparently was upset that his wife was leaving him, and took out his frustrations on his children and himself. Also, I found a story from Pittsburgh, about a woman and her son who argued over a dog that was urinating in their house. When the mother called police to help her evict her son, the 23-year-old man killed the two officers who responded to the call. He also shot a third policeman who was arriving on the scene as backup.

In addition, there has been a murder/suicide take place here in the Dayton area. A woman killed her estranged husband, and then drove to a gas station and ended up killing herself while she sat in her vehicle. The couple had a history of domestic violence. The woman had a civil protection order in effect since November.

Why are people choosing to resolve their problems this way? To me, the use of guns is almost of secondary importance. The real issue is trying to comprehend what makes a person so angry or desperate that he or she would consider murdering another human being. The weapon of choice can be a gun, a knife, a chainsaw, or an axe. There simply has to be some kind of stress that acts as the pressure to make someone go off.

I wonder if something else could be at work, another kind of invisible stress or pressure. It might even be described as a type of fear. It may, in part, stem from the despair of losing a job, a home, and a lifestyle. But I think there exists an unspoken fear of what may be creeping into American society. For instance, the young man in Pittsburgh who shot those police officers was being overcome with fears and concerns. His mother stated in the police affidavit that her son “believed that as a result of economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society.” His friends revealed that he was concerned about his weapons being seized at some point in Barack Obama’s administration.

This is a growing concern. However, if you are thinking that the government might confiscate your guns, it wouldn’t be too smart to start shooting policemen. All that does is give the anti-gun zealots good cause to pursue restrictions on gun ownership. On the other hand, there are lots of people who believe that this is the time where government finally takes away the right to bear arms. This fear is mixed with other feelings and suspicions many Americans have about the government. Many people sense that the freedoms and rights they have long enjoyed are being taken away. And as they witness their rights to wealth, expression, and self-defense disappear, the frustration will grow. History tells us that in colonial times, King George became so oppressive with taxes and military intimidation that the people had no choice but to revolt. I wonder if there is another revolution awaiting in 21st-century America.