This is not a blog post about gun control. Everything that can possibly be said about that subject, pro or con, has already been said millions of times since Friday. We are talking too much, too soon. In the words of my rabbi, “Judaism teaches that when there is nothing to say we should say nothing….Sometimes only silence gives voice to what has happened."
We Americans should all be sitting shiva.
But when, next week, we rise from our knees and begin working – together, I hope – to reduce the terrible problem of violence in our country, we must realize that our disorder goes much deeper than simply owning too many guns, and that any effective solution will have to go much deeper too.
When they are distressed, some people clean house or do push-ups I collect data. All week I have been amassing numbers and arranging them in rows and columns, trying to shed light on the question: Why are some nations violent while others are not?
To answer that question would take a lifetime of research and more wisdom than Solomon’s. The best I could do was to look at the homicide rates of the 34 OECD nations, which are the countries that most resemble the United States in culture and economics, and to compare them with rates in other categories. The best I can offer are correlations, not causes.* Here is what I have learned in the last four days.
1. Despite what liberals like myself would like to believe, the homicide rate does not correlate, either negatively or positively, with the gun-ownership rate per se.** South Korea, for example, has a very low gun-ownership rate but a high homicide rate. Austria, Norway, and Switzerland, on the other hand, have relatively high gun-ownership rates but low homicide rates. Japan has low rates all around – very few guns, very few homicides – while the United States has high rates of both gun ownership and homicide.
2. Despite what some preachers (and atheists) have claimed, the homicide rate does not correlate, either negatively or positively, with religiosity. The United States is highly religious and highly homicidal. Japan is barely religious and has almost no homicides. Most nations, though, are an unpredictable mixture of spirituality and savagery.
3. There appears to be some correlation between high homicide rates and a high degree of economic inequality. This seems particularly evident in Mexico, Estonia, the United States, and Chile, who all have lots of homicides and a great gap between rich and poor.
4. The homicide rate correlates most strikingly with three other rates:
• The higher a nation’s homicide rate, the more likely it is to have a high rate of military expenditures.
• The higher a nation’s homicide rate, the less likely it is to have an effective healthcare system.
• The higher a nation’s homicide rate, the less likely its students are to earn high scores in mathematics.
In other words, if you want to identify homicidal OECD nations, look for the ones with the strongest militaries and the weakest social services.
In case you’re wondering, of the 34 OECD nations, the United States has the third-highest homicide rate. We also have the highest number of guns per 100 residents and the fourth-highest rate of military expenditures (for what is by far the most expensive military in the world). At the same time we have the third highest income-inequality rate. In healthcare outcomes we are in 24th place, and in mathematical achievement we are tied with Portugal and Ireland for 25th place.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. ... Is there no other way the world may live?
This week President Obama announced that Vice-President Biden will "lead an exploration of options" regarding "the renewal of an assault weapons ban, limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines and an end to loopholes allowing gun purchases with no background checks."
Such options, if legislated and enforced, might well decrease our appalling homicide rate. They will not, however, reduce our huge military outlay. They will not make our healthcare and educational systems competitive with those of other nations. And until we prioritize people over power, we are likely to continue down our violent path.
It is clear that gun control - especially re: semi-automatic weapons, background checks and limiting the amount of ammunition is a healthy and logic next step - no matter what the NRA might say to the contrary. People DO kill people and they kill MORE people when weapons designed for military use are available to civilians. But as important as new controls will be, they are the low-hanging fruit in American culture that celebrates violence.
+ Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times got it right re: gun control read his insights here @ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?_r=0
+ A tougher nut to crack has to do with the models and rites of passage that link white males in the US to their guns. Read the thoughts of Jackson Katz here at @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackson-katz/men-gender-gun-violence_b_2308522. html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
+ And don't forget to read Kimberly Burkett's open letter to Mike Huckabee: a PTA Mom takes on the cruel stupidity of some preachers @ http://educatefortexas. wordpress.com/2012/12/17/an-open-letter-from-a-pta-mom-to-mike-huckabee-a-message-for-those-who-long-for-gods-presence-in-schools/
Each of these reflections helped me sit in the silent horror of this hour. They also helped me sense a foretaste of what God requires after our season of grieving. As predicted, the NRA has just come forward to suggest adding armed guards to our schools as a way to keep our children safe. As one wise soul said in response: I'm assuming NRA members will pay for all these school guards? What about shopping malls, sports arenas, school bus stops, sidewalks and street corners? And who will guard the guards? Not only have they now rendered themselves useless, but people of faith must challenge the way they buy and sell our political leaders. NYC Mayor Bloomberg put it like this:
The N.R.A.’s Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. Instead of offering solutions to a problem they have helped create, they offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe. Leadership is about taking responsibility, especially in times of crisis. Today the N.R.A.’s lobbyists blamed everyone but themselves for the crisis of gun violence. While they promote armed guards, they continue to oppose the most basic and common sense steps we can take to save lives – not only in schools, but in our movie theaters, malls, and streets. Enough. As a country, we must rise above special interest politics. Every day, 34 Americans are murdered with guns. That’s why 74 percent of N.R.A. members support common sense restrictions like criminal background checks for anyone buying a gun. It is time for Americans who care about the Second Amendment and reasonable gun restrictions to join together to work with the president and Congress to stop the gun violence in this country. Demand a plan.
The N.R.A.’s Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. Instead of offering solutions to a problem they have helped create, they offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe. Leadership is about taking responsibility, especially in times of crisis. Today the N.R.A.’s lobbyists blamed everyone but themselves for the crisis of gun violence. While they promote armed guards, they continue to oppose the most basic and common sense steps we can take to save lives – not only in schools, but in our movie theaters, malls, and streets. Enough. As a country, we must rise above special interest politics. Every day, 34 Americans are murdered with guns. That’s why 74 percent of N.R.A. members support common sense restrictions like criminal background checks for anyone buying a gun. It is time for Americans who care about the Second Amendment and reasonable gun restrictions to join together to work with the president and Congress to stop the gun violence in this country. Demand a plan.
John Boehner, for example, has voted for the NRA agenda consistently - receiving an A+ rating - all for a paltry $12K a year! As my doctor said to me yesterday, "I could spend an hour today and raise 12 grand for him - would he then quit selling his soul to the NRA - and do something to keep our kids safe?" How does the scripture put it: what does it profit a man (or woman) to gain the whole world but lose his soul? (Mark 6: 36)
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