Instead of making America feel guilty and ashamed of ourselves and scolding us like we're a bunch of children, not to mention saying a whole lot of nothing, the "historical" New York Times op-ed piece re: gun control yesterday should have maybe said, oh I don't know, maybe something a little less one-sided/naive and more realistic/intelligent. Something along these lines:
"It's very possible that some gun control regulations may be in order. Possibly. Don't know. Hard to tell. Maybe some regulations when it comes to semi-automatic weapons are necessary right now. Yes, perhaps, maybe we need some restrictions in that department. Whether this will prevent San Bernardino-type shootings is completely unknown and I'd be a self-righteous blowhard for even speculating whether this would be the case because I don't even know all the details behind this incident yet. Nobody does. Nobody knows jack-shit, hardly. It's all very mysterious, still.
That all being said, it's important to be very, VERY careful when it comes to gun control, even the type of gun control that regulates semi-automatic-type-guns that are used for mass shootings. The main reason for this is because disarmament of the masses is the first lesson the bad people teach in the Dictatorship 101 class. This is not to say that the Obama administration is a dictatorship, although - by nature - this administration does have dictatorial tendencies due to its executive orders and threats of executive orders and what-have-you. Let's give Obama and his administration the benefit of the doubt and just say that our main concern here is creating a ripe, vulnerable environment for a dictatorship to rise down the road (could be Hillary, could be Donald, could be somebody further down the line). Maybe this sounds overly paranoid but history has shown that most dictatorships begin with initial steps to disarm, very much like what we're seeing now (though we're being guilted into thinking this is the "moral" and "right" thing to do). Don't believe me? Here are some relevant quotes from history's most notorious dictators:
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country.
– Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942
(The Nazi's implemented gun control in 1938. From 1939 to 1945, 13 million defenseless Jews were exterminated.)
If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves.
– Joseph Stalin
(The Soviet Union implements gun control in 1929. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million defenseless dissidents are exterminated.)
The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all, the elimination of the so-called subversive elements. … They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results.
– Benito Mussolini, address to the Italian Senate, 1931
All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party.
– Mao Tze Tung, Nov 6 1938
(China implements gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952 10,076,000 defenseless political dissidents are exterminated.)
So let's not polarize and be pressured to pick a side here. Let's just admit and face the fact that the gun control debate is a very complicated and delicate issue. I would be a self-righteous blowhard if I were to shame America for being a "disgrace" because we haven't yet done anything about our mass shootings. Let's be very careful. Indeed, some regulations may be in order. But gun control in general - across the board - is very, very delicate territory. Even with semi-automatic weapon regulations we must tread carefully. After all, if you were a dictator, wouldn't the semi-automatics be the first and main weapons you'd want out of your way?"
