When "thoughts and prayers" simply aren't enough
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When "thoughts and prayers" simply aren't enough
I know it may sound trivial, but as I watched some of the early coverage of the Aurora shooting yesterday, I thought about an episode I'd just seen of HBO's cable-news drama "The Newsroom." It centered on fictional coverage of a real-life event, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. The journalists wanted to ask hard-hitting questions of BP and its contractor Halliburton about lax safety and environmental standards; both companies wanted to stick to scripted statements that their "thoughts and prayers" were with the families of the 11 workers missing and presumed dead. By the second time, anchorman Will McAvoy's voice catches -- an ironic half-chuckle, really -- in bemused frustration at corporate vapidity wearing the cloak of sincerity.
It wasn't fiction when the horrific news broke this morning that a black-attired, gas-mask-wearing "Joker" burst into the midnight showing of "Batman: Dark Knight Rises" in a Colorado exurb, hitting 71 people with gunfire -- a grim U.S. record -- and killing 12 of them. As I watched MSNBC to learn any fresh details, this reality-based cable channel was running a feed of Twitter posts from prominent politicians and celebrities across the bottom of the screen. The similarity of the comments was oddly chilling -- the words "thoughts and prayers" flickered, again and again and again.
I'm not trying to be as cynical as this probably sounds -- I'm sure that Newt Gingrich, Mike Tyson, Sean Hannity, Michael Dell, John McCain, Nick Jonas or whoever else you want to pull out of the endless "thoughts and prayers" queue were coping with the same heartfelt mixture of grief, anguish and anger that you and I first felt. But the repetitive use of the exact same phrase by so many people seemed telling. It meant that this American brand of insanity had happened so many times, with such numbing repetition, that even our leaders no longer know what to say. Or even worse, they've learned that "thoughts and prayers" has become the safe and secure way of responding -- focus-group tested to be gaffe-proof and offend not a single person on either the Right or the Left. Because in our 21st Century political culture, the name of the game is not offending anyone. Actually doing something? That's so far off the radar screen it's not even in the control tower.
The "thoughts and prayers" statement is just one step in a grim dance that's become so predictable that the satirical site The Onion nailed it in a piece so on target it may win a Pulitzer Prize for commentary next year. Of course we have rituals, because this happens so often. Sure, the facts are mind-boggling: 20 mass killings in the United States, on average, every year. But then, consider this: Mass shootings have become so common in this country that earlier in this very week, a man fired a gun into a crowded bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and wounded 17 people-- and it barely made the news. Consider this: Yesterday's mayhem wasn't even the only horrific shooting in the history of Aurora, Colo.; in 1993 a man walked into the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant there and gunned down four people. And consider this: One of the victims in yesterday's tragedy, the aspiring sportswriter Jessica Ghawi, had also been at the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto (yes, Canada...it happens sometimes). After witnessing the mayhem there, she wrote: "Every second of every day is a gift." She wrote that 46 days ago. She was only 24 when she died.
And yet the more astonishingly awful that gun violence becomes, the more insipid is the response from on high. It was also telling that the presidential campaigns suspended not just their campaigns but their political advertisingas news of the mass murder sunk in. It shows that against the backdrop of America's actual problems, the shallowness of what passes for political dialogue and debate would seem too jarring to ever live down. Instead, President Obama and Mitt Romney came out to share the undoubtedly heartfelt thoughts and prayers with the American people, in words that I cannot quote because I already have forgotten them. Maybe that's because it's hard to say who has less moral authority when it comes to gun violence -- the former gun-control advocate who boasts about killing varmints and now bows down in tribute to the NRA, or the former gun-control advocate who's it easier to shoot somebody in a national park or on a high-speed train because he cowers in fear of the NRA.
I guess it would be fair to note here that Obama and Romney were far from the only "leaders" who turned to jello when required to say something about the senseless killing of 12 citizens. Their ilk was summed up by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who struggled on national TV for something to say, blurting out that there's “an anger that can’t find focus.”
It's time to focus, people. Forgive me, but here, too, I am reminded of the same episode of "The Newsroom," and Will McAvoy's rant when asked why America is the greatest nation on earth. It's triggered by two signs from his ex-girlfriend and future executive producer. "It's not," read the first one, before: "But it can be."
There were brief moments in the gruesome aftermath when it almost was. One politician struck the real right tone, not the phony right tone. That was Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York. He said: "You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country," and he added this:
And instead of the two people – President Obama and Governor Romney – talking in broad things about they want to make the world a better place, okay, tell us how. And this is a real problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them concretely, not just in generalities – specifically what are they going to do about guns?
Billionaire Bloomberg has put his money behind this, funding major gun control efforts. He shouldn't be alone. That suspension of political advertising yesterday? America got along fine without it, didn't it? What if we continued that through November, and all the plutocrats tossing their millions down the money pit of electing the next president pledged to fund anti-violence campaigns? I'm not just talking about your George Soroses and Morgan Freemans on the left, but your Koch Brothers and your Sheldon Adelsons on the right. Hey, there must be big conservative ideas for reducing violence, right? Maybe this is the height of naivety, but to solve a big problem America will have to dream big.
A decade ago, the teen pregnancy rate in America went down -- in part because liberals and conservatives agreed it was a worthy goal, and there was a movement that tolerated ideas from both sides. Gun violence should be no different. We should acknowledge that there's a large silent majority of Americans that doesn't want to overturn the 2nd Amendment but also recognizes that -- just as our freedom of movement doesn't mean the government can't regulate autos and airplanes -- the right to bear arms is not a permisssion slip for rapid-fire mass-killing devices. In a nation of more than 300 million, there are too many ticking time bombs, too many would-be Jared Lee Loughners and James Holmes to give them an open ended license to kill.
Common sense would allow us to work together to ban high-capacity magazines -- mechanisms that aren't so useful to deer hunters but enable mass murderers, and that were illegal in a recent decade in which the Republic did not crumble. Indeed, common sense would allow our leaders to revisit the expired 1994 assault rifle ban -- which outlawed the AR-15 rifle that Holmes used to gun down a number of his victims. Common sense would also allow us to revisit one-gun-a-month laws, considering that Holmes was able to legally amass his deadly arsenal in a short period of time.
Let's also remember that this heinous crime took place on July 20 -- the 43rd anniversary of the day that two Americans walked on the surface of the moon. That was the America that wasn't intimidated by an impossible dream, that worked together to make it happen. America was great on that July 20. And it can be...again. That will depend on our leaders..but even more so on us. It makes no sense tbat so many politicians are so afraid of a single-issue extremist group called the National Rifle Association. They need to be afraid of us, the real moral majority.
There was nothing wrong with President Obama reminding us yesterday that it could have been his daughters in the theater -- that was something I knew too well. You see, my 17-year-old son was at a midnight showing of "Batman" in the Philadelphia suburbs Friday morning. He walked through the front door safe and sound at 2:40 a.m. Eastern, the exact instant that hell was breaking loose 2,000 miles away. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world, but the future of my son and President Obama's daughters depends on more than luck. And sometimes, "thoughts and prayers" just aren't nearly enough.
Sometimes, action is required.
Goner, would you believe me if I tell you I see the same misery? It didn't start with Obama nor will it end with him. Jeez, I'm not pleased with him either. I see him from a liberal's point of view as simply another politician trying to keep his job. He says what he thinks us libs want to hear, but fails to act on it. I echo Will's disappointment. I'll still vote for him because for me the alternative is much worse. Sure, I can't convince you of that, but I'm old enough to realize nothing is solved overnight nor so bad we have to give up. Now, I don't want guns outlawed. I own a Glock 9mm for family defense because I live too far in the boonies to rely on police protection. However, I don't fear reasonable restrictions on my keeping and bearing it as an act of tyranny. Some inconveniences are worth it for the good of all. I drive a car too, and don't feel oppressed because I need it registered and insured, inspected annually, and had to obtain proficiency in order to use it. I have to pass a vision test and refrain from being under the influence in order to keep that right. Why can't we apply that rationale to the equally if not more dangerous firearm?- "But MSL, 99.99999% of legal gun owners didn't do anything wrong last night." . . . . But the night before last?
Please keep us safe, President Obama. We'll relinquish everything, including all of our income and our assets, but PLEASE KEEP US SAFE!!!!!!!— Wilhelm Von Humboldt- Frank S's comment encapsulates everything that's wrong and ignorant about American gun culture. The Second Amendment does NOT exist so Frank S can avoid imaginary "enslavement" by newspaper writers (for God's sake). It does NOT exist to allow Americans to kill each other with assault weapons. It does NOT exist so that paranoids can amass arsenals with the excuse that they're defending their homes. It exists solely because the founders believed the people of that time needed protection in case a foreign power -- notably Britain -- decided to attack the new country, which did not have a standing army. Everything else that is said today about the Second Amendment is after-the-fact rubbish peddled by the gun manufacturers' trade association, the NRA, whose aim is to sell as many guns to as many people as possible. And people keep falling for the NRA's spurious argument, even as Americans continue to be slaughtered by guns legal and illegal -- as if it made any difference.— Dave Clemens
- Well articulated and cogent response.
It is crystal clear to me that the Second Amendment was intended to protect a young rural nation from invasion by other countries and provide for personal safety when a legitimate local police force was non-existent. Many others are just as clear on the opposite point of view.
If we can declare a truce on calling each other names, and stop, even briefly, labeling our beliefs, we can solve this problem.
— jaburk3 
You make a fair point MSL.. you own a Glock and have no problem with restrictions on other guns. But as history shows the minority liberals never stop at just this or that.. they always come back for more. Today assault rifles tomorrow your Glock, then what?. The question should be asked why this guys parents who knew he was unstable did not report it, that just might have stopped him getting his hands on these firearms.— PAEnglish- @WilliamVon--Well 3,000 less American civilians have been murdered by Islamic religious fanatics since the "Kenyan Socialist Revolutionary" became president. A better protection record than our previous tongue tied dry drunk Pres. and his two time DUI, shoot my friend in the face VP.— mick-of-the-moment
- @FW--Yeah he really bowed to that Bin Laden guy.— mick-of-the-moment
I very much enjoyed reading your point of view and it's very much like mine.
The 2nd amendment was written in a time the people of this country needed to be armed to protect themselves from what was in the wilderness and don't forget the Native Americans...as their land was taken from them.
Why does someone need an assault rifle for? Are you going to war? Why can a private citizen purchase complete tactical gear that US soldiers wear in war? That's right - it's a free country and you can do what you want to do, own as many guns as you want and use them to murder people when/if you go crazy.
I'm not against hunters, law enforcement or members of the military that protect and serve the citizens of this country. Everyone else...no - you don't need a gun.
The people who have threatened this writer - shame on you! While you toot your horn about the 2nd amendment, don't forget mine the the writer's rights - in the 1st amendment. My rights about my opinions are protected too...just like your right to own an assault rifle.— swimfishie- in 1789, There were fewer American citizens under the threat of an indian attack than there are now under the threat of a criminal assault.
For what does someone need an assault rifle in 2012? Ask for what did someone need a .69 caliber musket in 1789. Certainly not for hunting. But, the 2nd mendment did not single out any type of "arm." Not even a rusty old sword.
"Everyone else?" That will be YOU the day a criminal points a gun at you and attempts to rape your wife. Sorry to tell you, then it will be too late for you to avail yourself of a gun. Call 911, and the cops will arrive just in time to help you get your raped wife dressed, if you're still alive.
Want to know what is the only thing standing in protection of the 1st Amendment? Madison and Jefferson made it clear - The 2nd! The capability of the citizenry to rise up, bear arms and defend its rights against a tyrannical government is the only reason why the 2nd Amendment was enacted. It was not meant to make hunters, cops and soldiers comfortable. In fact, none of the three is mentioned in the article.
— DonQ - Guns have to be manufactured and placed into ordinary commerce before they can be obtained by criminals, legally or not. I'm not against owning a gun for self-defense, but I don't think I should have to obtain an assault weapon, large capacity magazines, and thousands of rounds of ammo to feel safe from everyone else legally having them. Also, the first amendment is protected by a proper legal system. The absence of gun control did not prevent the Alien and Sedition Acts in our early history. Some folks settled their argumenty by dueling, e.g., Burr killing Hamilton.
- I don't own a military-style weapon ("assault rifle" being a misnomer). This said, if my neighbor decides he needs one, together with the accompanying magazines and ammunition, it's not for me to decide whether he has a right to them or not. People like you who wish to impone your judgments on others are deserving of having others impose their judgments on you. How would you feel if your neighbor decided that your car is a hazard and decided to have it banned from the road? — DonQ
- A WELL REGULATED militia...— mick-of-the-moment
- Joe Biden is going to fake an illness and Obama will put Hillary on the ticket. I know this because Obama hasn't played the " War on Women" card in a couple weeks.
He's overdue for another phony hate fest, and he's getting desperate to move the dial.— Mr. Smith - MSL - "I'm not so sure. I think he wanted the "thrill" of using the guns. If his only motivation was death, gassing would have been equally if not more effective. But not so manly, eh?" The killer used guns because they are more readily controlled than gas. If guns had been removed from the equation by legislation he would have gone to something more destructive (bomb or gas). As he already made bombs and used gas their use in the absence of guns is a logic progression. He wanted to murder and would have regardless of any conceivable gun restrictions.— 2ndNlong
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