America and the rest of world civilization is in a bad spot -- a really bad spot!

The ubiquitous outward violence in society, whatever form it takes, is the expression of the disharmony in our individual minds as we interact daily with all of those around us. And, each in our own way, we have all contributed to a world on the brink of destruction. Although it is a matter of degree, no one is entirely innocent. We are all culpable for the problems, and we are all responsible for discovering the solutions and changing the paradigm. We can't wait for someone or something else to flip the switch in our minds, to tell us what to do. Understanding has to be through self-awareness.

Of course, for whatever reasons, willful violence has always been an integral component of our psyches throughout the course of our species' evolution. However, at this point in time, it has reached a destructive crescendo unimaginable barely a hundred years ago. In a shrinking world with an expanding civilization, the rapidly increasing rate of our population explosion, technological advancements, and communication networks, coupled with evermore alarming and polarizing political and religious intransigence, wealth disparity, and a penchant for unsustainable materialism on a planet with declining resources, has pushed us to the limit of our ability to cope and survive much longer.

It seems that Homo sapiens' cold, calculating intellectual prowess has evolved faster than a sense of compassion, empathy, and oneness with nature, which is the absolute and harmonious basis upon which all life flourishes, including our own. In other words, life does not exist in isolation; it is a phenomenon that constantly relates to all things on a fundamental level without any separation.

It will probably be impossible to just "think" our way out of our dire predicament in the conventional sense, like solving a math problem or puzzle. Otherwise, after ten thousand years of trying, we would have succeeded by now. It will likely take a fundamental, evolutionary advancement in our core psychological makeup, a higher awareness, so to speak, of what it means to actually live and feel and relate, beyond the mere thought of it, the mere concept that is forever one step removed from the fact of living, that timeless state with no past or future, which is the source of all energy, and which exists at this very moment in an unbroken succession of constant movement.

If we can't expand our narrow, isolated consciousness, grow out of our fearful and violent nature, and adapt our basic and ongoing approach to a swiftly changing environment, we may very well continue down the path to extinction, like so many other hominids before us. In view of Earth's harsh and uncompromising geological past and the long progression of life that occurs in fits and starts, if we don't change, that eventual outcome is self-evident beyond mere ideation and opinion.

Much like the bible, the second amendment gets conveniently distorted to meet the needs of right-wing extremists everywhere. I own an authentic Rev War musket and often think about that relic as the actual frame of reference our founders had when penning the second amendment.

Repealing the opportunity to semantically distort an amendment won't stop individuals like the extreme right-wing pizzagate gunman. The fascist fake news media prompted him and I'm sure many more thousands just like him are out there.

Imagine that, Democrats wielding guns! And If the Republithugs go after Social Security, Medicare, even legalized weed, you're going to see more of this kind of thing. People are fed up with the status quo, and they're starting to fight back. Because all the rest is just talk and partisan gridlock, it's juvenile!

The question of the day is "Should we repeal the 2nd amendment?"

Nope. What we should do is outlaw the violent, traitorous Republican party.

Outback: The numbers were from the CDC:

https://everytownresearch.org/gun-violence-by-the-numbers/

I was born and raised in a very rural area, also own guns, and am quite familiar with the culture. Having gone through an extensive hunter's safety course at an early age and later having gone through several advanced combat infantry courses in the Army, I am very comfortable around weapons and still greatly enjoy target practicing. Although I lost my taste for hunting long ago, I still carry a modified pistol-grip, short-barrel, pump 12 gauge with solid slugs, plus a 45 auto, whenever I hike in bear country. And, yes, I carry for self defense. What bothers me, however, are those with insufficient training and/or ill intent, who can so easily get their shaky trigger fingers and sweaty palms on so much firepower on a whim.

You make valid points, but I think it's misleading to base arguments solely on percentages of the population as a whole. It's too generalized. You could justify inaction in solving any problem by using too broad of a statistical analysis, such as the deaths and maiming from elective wars of aggression in the Middle East, the carnage on our highways, people poisoned by the food they eat, the water they drink, the air they breathe, etc.

A single life is no less valid because it is only a tiny percent of the entire population. Tell an inner city mom in Chicago that her dead black son was only part of .03%, and that easy access to guns in her hood are just the facts of life she must learn to live with as she tries to raise her remaining children in the free-for-all war zones of our cities.

Of course it is unrealistic to expect to solve every problem completely, but at least we can take reasonable steps to intervene and reduce the butchery and bloodshed as much as possible. Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no big, bad "Left Establishment." (Traditionally, the so-called "left" in America is the Communist Party, which is probably less than a thousand individuals.) Like it or not, polling people outside the context of their political identities consistently demonstrates that the mainstream majority of Americans agree with liberal and progressive issues and policies more than they do with those of the right.

One of those issues is gun control. Never in its history has the Democratic Party called for "gittin rid a guns." To score political points with low-information voters, that's the red herring Republicans pin on anyone who dares to promote feasible and rational gun-control measures.

Here are but a few: strenuously enforce the laws already on the books; close gun-show loopholes that allow straw purchases, whereby criminal gangs are able to acquire large quantities of weapons; register guns and require proficiency testing for licensing and insurance -- as we do with automobiles, which can also kill people -- improve the cross-checking system to weed out those with a history of violent behavior, mental illness, or crimes involving guns; match up the "no-fly list" with a "no-gun list" so that terrorists can't take advantage of our lax laws; get weapons of war off the streets -- not the ones used for hunting, home defense, recreational target shooting, or licensed collections, but those designed exclusively to rapidly kill as many people as possible, much like the laws banning machine guns, grenades, bazookas, etc.; create gun-free zones that address the specific concerns of individual communities, for which the affected citizens may vote, including schools, churches, playgrounds, theaters, public buildings, shopping centers, etc. -- no one size fits all. (People in inner cities have different concerns than people in rural northern Idaho); require programmable, high-tech trigger locks, such as thumbprints, which can be quickly overridden by only those authorized to use the weapon.

None of these measures are unreasonable or unworkable; yet, all of them are hysterically opposed by Republicans, the gun industry, the NRA, and their lobbyists. Again, it's not the big, bad "guvmunt" who would determine who is qualified to possess weaponry on civilian streets, it is We the People utilizing intelligent solutions in conjunction with law enforcement and mental health professionals, science and technology, private industry and public institutions, objective studies and comprehensive knowledge, non-partisan cooperation and compromise, but, most of all, a solid foundation of morality and social consciousness. Why is America the only modern country that can't figure this out?

As you have indicated, people in our country because of its history will always be greatly divided on the right to bear arms and what exactly that means. Nevertheless, it is greatly appreciated that you zeroed in on the crux of the matter. It is all too true that "the real root cause lies in the violent nature of our society," which I would extend to include all forms of violence in the thoughts, words, and deeds of everyone on the planet. We are a violent people who have created a culture of violence. That is an undeniable fact that really should be at the center of any argument.

Without a doubt, Homo sapiens are a gratuitously violent species by nature -- a trait we share with virtually no other higher mammals, except chimpanzees and perhaps a few other hominids -- but evolution never stops. In fact, suggested by recent findings, archeologists and anthropologists strongly suspect that modern humans survived a "genetic bottleneck" about 70,000 years, where our population dwindled to only 3,000 to 10,000 individuals, by cooperating and supporting one another, rather than by fighting and killing until the strongest survived. Perhaps it is time to make the next great leap in consciousness -- for our continued survival into a problematic future exacerbated by overpopulation.

It is worth thinking about what may happen if millions of right-wing "gun enthusiasts” begin experiencing unexpected very serious financial/health trauma as a result of the passage of Republican/Trump legislation. History is full of examples of where violence has erupted when (corrupt) democracies failed to represent the people.

DianeWorld; Thom has never -- not once -- encouraged violence in any way, shape, or form! Neither have I, nor have the clear majority of other liberals and progressives who post here. For you to insinuate otherwise is a despicable lie of the worst kind. You should apologize immediately to retain what little credibility you might still enjoy on this blog!

Picking out the rare exceptions does not excuse the overall dishonesty of your extremist partisan point that liberals and progressive as a group subscribe to inherently violent ideologies. Those of us who are loudly advocating for peaceful revolution, yet strongly-worded resistance, against truly regressive policies and attitudes, which are furthering the cause of a greedy, billionaire-style fascistic government and the hugely destructive global empire-building of our military-industrial-congressional complex and surveillance state -- hard realities that are eroding the foundations of democracy everywhere -- does not mean we are advocating for violent solutions.

To name a few off the top of my head, I would refer you to the teachings of your own Jesus Christ, as well as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jiddu Krishnamurti, and so many others in history, who have devoted their lives to champion peaceful resistance to the status quo -- altering the destructive course of humanity through a deeper awareness of the deep-seated conflict existing in both our collective and individual minds.

You say that you "listen" to Thom, but you obviously don't. Maybe it's time that you do...

C8: Most US gun sales are offshore. It's a huge industry with tons of money (political influence) to throw around. It isn't just the NRA. Controlling access to guns within our borders is a political issue that is complex, given our Second Amendment history. The only way to achieve it would be through ratcheting up the Police State (see Hitler's Germany, 1939). Not likely to happen here.

Legend: You state "We lived for a long time without semi automatic weapons. It is sad that Outback lives in such a mental state of paranoia."

I believe it's true that we lived for a very long time without firearms, period. Before that, it was the male with the stoutest phisique who could wield the heaviest club. The fact is that times have changed, for better or worse, and the most formidable weapon of today (generally accessible) is the semi automati assault rifle. If things were allowed to progress unchecked it would be the fully automatic machine gun or the RPG (although properly vetted and licensed civilians in this country can legally posess even these). I wouldn't disagree that a sensible level of control is necessary to ensure that these even more deadly weapons won't proliferate, but surely you can see that, once made available, there will be no recall of the semi automatic weapon short of confiscation.

I don't feel in the least paranoid, Legend. Perhaps it's you and your like minded pals that are freaked out by the mere existance of these weapons and the constant drumbeat by the media to sensationalize every incident of gun related violence even though these are statistically insignificant within a world population approaching seven billion. The carnage inflicted upon humanity by the power brokers absolutely towers above anything perpetrated by deranged individuals bearing semi automatic weapons. You need to come to grips with the reality that the world has become a more dangerous place in our time. It's not going to change with your wishful thinking or characterizing gun owners such as myself as being "paranoid".

And in a very worst case scenario (which I hope will never come to pass) you may be ultimately grateful to the large number of rational individuals in this country that have chosen to arm themselves with something more than pitch forks.

Think of it as "trickle-up austerity." Ending actual welfare aid gave the poor the incentice to get unpoor, and ending the ACA will give people the incentive to avoid illness and injury. If Medicaid is ended for the elderly poor and the disabled, people will eventually stop getting old or disabled, and that's a good thing. Right?

The fact is that this nation has grown up with gun ownership interwoven into the tapestry of our society. Guns will not be disappearing anytime soon, get used to it.

This is also a violent society, as pointed out by others here. How else can we permit our leaders to wage perpetual war against "the brown people" of the world with such impunity? We get off on video clips of our high tech weaponry wreaking havoc upon everything from "enemy" bunkers to wedding parties (oops, sorry) fed to us from our mainstream media daily. We are a bloodthirsty lot.

As to the carnage inflicted daily by guns on the people of this country, if deepspace's number is correct, That calculates to be .03% of this country's population annually. To put this into perspective, what percentage of the people here will be dying from lack of adequate health care if the establishment has its way? Guns, my friends, are the red herring of our time.

To quote Legend above "more guns = more violence". I'm sorry, but that logic just won't fly. You could reasonably say that "guns in the hands of more irrational people = more violence", but until we figure out a way to effectively limit access to guns by "irrational" or "unstable" people without a blanket ban on gun ownership, including confiscation, this is simply a pipe dream and ain't gonna happen. In addition, if it could be implemented, it raises the specter of the State being given the power to determine who is rational. I think this is a much more frightening concept than the idea that .03% of the population could be injured by a gun in a given year.

And finally, I submit that posession of a gun affords a certain measure of utility to it's owner in much the same way that automobile ownership does, in that each piece of hardware has its use in the hands of a responsible individual yet carries the inherent risk of lethal consequences if used neglegently. In my case, I live in rural North Idaho. I would hazzard a guess that behind the door of 90% of the residences in this area there lies a loaded gun and a person that knows how to use it. Violent crime is very low in this area. One aspect of this is that a would-be criminal knows that he stands a very good chance of ending up on the wrong end of a gun if he tries anything. I'll take my chances here (with my guns) over my odds in a metropolitan area, with its police "protecdtion", any day.

Please people, let's strive to think critically about this. The Left Establishment and media have managed to convince a segment of society that "guns" is the root cause of domestic violence. The real root cause lies in the violent nature of our society which has pervaded it since the founding of this nation. As a reasonably rational individual I feel it necessary to bear arms for my own self defence against all the true "crazies" out there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gabby-giffords-shooting-response-twi...