Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Kat's avatar

I have had folks tell me that it is their god given right to own guns. I am not sure how the 2nd amendment became elevated to this level of religious significance. These are my colleagues that are smart and educated and yet this is what they carry in their hearts. Where do you go from there? I vote. But it feels so senseless when children die.

Expand full comment
Chris's avatar

Thank you for another thoughtful response to the insanity. It is frustrating when most people want it to stop and our politicians don't act. My own belief is that the chaos will not end until we do more to end voter suppression. Right now, we don't need to encourage people to vote--we need to abolish the obstacles to voting. Australia is an example of what a true democracy looks like—it’s response to the last mass shooting there in 1996 and its handling of COVID resulting in a death rate that is 1/10th of the US levels is proof. Similar to US demographics (60% urban, 40% rural), similar spectrum of people who identify themselves as conservative or progressive—and yet, at the end of the day, sanity rules. Voting is mandatory (fines are less than $15) but this seems to be one of the only ways to ensure a strong democracy vs. the oligarchy which currently rules this country. I would choose mandatory voting over school massacres any day. What is at the forefront of my mind amidst the limiting of our civil rights, rampant mass shootings, inequalities in education and housing, etc. is that mandatory voting is not even on the table but rather we are still arguing about access to voting, what other democracy limits access to voting to its current eligible voters? Protests will only get us so far—putting the power of our government truly in the hands of its people is the only way to stability and reason.

Expand full comment
43 more comments...

No posts