Another mass shooting Wednesday, this time in San Jose, California. And 10 more human beings are dead, including the gunman.
They are dead because of madness, but also inaction.
It is fair to ask — perhaps the Lord himself asks: How long, oh man; how long?
Why are we so determined to be so helpless in the face of this pandemic?
The issue with gun control in this nation is not what will work and not work, but why we do not even begin to experiment and adapt.
It is not how long it will take to get the many weapons of war we have allowed onto our streets, and into the hands of our children, under some kind of control, but why we never make a start.
As President John F. Kennedy used to say, if the problem will take a generation, begin now; begin immediately.
But, instead of passing legislation, we say that, whatever we do, it will not be enough.
No, it will not.
And, instead of dealing with a national crisis of mental health and homelessness, we retreat from our cities.
This is so, though this piece of the puzzle is solvable.
The issue is not our political will but our utter lack of it.
It took New Zealand one incident, of the kind we have in the U.S. weekly, to get to work and address the mass shooting issue.
Barack Obama has said that the greatest regret he has about his presidency was the inability to get something done on gun violence and reasonable gun restrictions.
President Joe Biden should appoint Obama to head a bipartisan, blue-ribbon commission to recommend swift, and specific, action on this crisis, and to lobby Congress and the public until progress begins.
It is time for a constituency of conscience to combat the National Rifle Association, and, more important, our national lethargy and lack of self-confidence and self-respect.
