Listen to the voice of reason, which is in the middle

I should describe myself, so no one reading this will be able to label me as something I am not. I am somewhere between libertarian and conservative on fiscal policies and a moderate on social issues.

America is great because it is designed to keep the radical on both sides as well as any one branch of government from gaining total control. It is a good but not perfect system. It is difficult to argue the middle because there is some truth to both sides of the extreme. 

Therefore when your ideas are in the middle, you have to argue and defend against both extremes. When the extremists outnumber the centrists, we get gridlock. When the centrists outnumber the extremists we get good government. Example of good government were the Reagan and Clinton eras.

Evil and ignorance exist. We can never control evil like the killing of the children from Sandy Hook. Evil has been around since the beginning of time. Evil has no side; it is just evil like the recent killing in Whitefish with a gun and in Polson with a knife. The extreme would try to control evil with banning all weapons. Controlling evil is impossible; punishment is the only resource we have. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can put more effort in what we CAN control — ignorance.

We can and do learn to overcome ignorance. Before the slaves were brought over to America, Europe indentured white poor people as servants. We no longer indenture white people, and we no longer have slaves. Lest we forget, we now have a president of color. We no longer stand for (as a society) treating women, gays, people with disabilities or people of color different. Yes we are still dealing with the whole gay marriage thing, but in time the people of reason will work it out. Besides once divorce settlements come into play, gays may want to rethink the whole marriage idea. 

So let’s work on ignorance... this will be a slow process as we can see from our past. We as Americans learned that the internment of Japanese in WWII was wrong even if the reason was right. If we hadn’t learned that lesson then we would have done the same to all Muslims after the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. And for the record, learning does not mean telling the white man he is privileged or demeaning anyone for the mistakes of past generations. It means that we educate not by forgetting our past and blaming the current “white man” but showing how we have progressed and how we can be better as “One nation under God.”

We need all kinds of people. Our differences are what make America great. But that doesn’t or shouldn’t preclude the use of common sense. My grandfather had a gun on the farm to kill the weasels that would come at night and kill his chickens. By the way he did not set traps or go killing all weasels in the area... just the ones who came after his chickens. They raised five boys and my mother with a gun in the house. My dad had a rifle to deer hunt with as I and my brother were growing up. My husband had a handgun to target shoot and now a rifle to protect us, if the need arises. 

I raised two children with a gun in the house. As a working mother, when I allowed a gun in the house I needed to make sure my young children could not get access to the gun. My adult son, who is an EMT, now has guns of his own. Now if my husband had a temper, or my children showed even the slightest signs of an unhealthy fascination with guns or violence or if they were hyperactive or depressed, I guarantee you I would not have let a gun in my home. That is what personal responsibility is all about and that should not be regulated... that is our freedom.

Now here is why I am writing this to those who believe guns kill and, because of that, want to regulate guns. Military guns are already not allowed to be owned by civilians. What is being proposed is a ban on military “LIKE” weapons. Which means how they look and not by the damage they inflict. No common sense there, so it will never pass. 

Consider some things first before passing more gun regulations. 

How long has evil existed; man killing man? Were there no killings prior to guns being invented? Did people out of anger or mental problems kill before guns... yes, they used rocks, sticks, swords or bow and arrow. There is no time or place in history where there was not evil or man killing man. 

No regulation on this earth will give us the world of John Lennon “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.” We can individually aspire to that dream, but the reality is evil exists. 

My heart goes out to anyone who has been touched by violence, but you cannot regulate good people and expect to get rid of evil. Even if we removed every gun in the nation, the evil ones would find a way to get them. Remember the history of Prohibition and how much violence increased during Prohibition and how it decreased when it was repealed? That had nothing to do with the number or type of guns available, but was based on criminal goals. Another example: Guns are not allowed in Mexico and guns are plentiful with the drug lords there. Only the average innocent citizens do not have guns. 

So because evil exists and none of us wants to see another murder, let’s use common sense when figuring out how to accomplish this by focusing on the real problem. Let’s realize there is evil in the world, just as there is good.

We need to stop making excuses for evil, such as “they were abused as a child.” There are many abused children who do not grow up to kill. Or “they were raised without a father.” There are many fatherless children raised by a mother or other relative who grow up and never do evil things. 

We need to remove evil people from our society who use a weapon in a crime or sexually abuse a child. But if you do some research, most people who use guns in a crime plea bargain and get out of prison in a short order, as do child molesters only to commit evil again. 

I think we should only imprison violent criminals. Many people who are not violent have longer prison sentences than those who killed someone. Non-violent criminals should be given mandatory education, job training or psychological help for drug or alcohol abuse. Lock up only those who are a physical threat to someone (if you use a weapon even in threat, you go to prison). 

This would mean we need more adult schools (not more prisons) to give those who as young adults made bad choices (using/selling drugs, robbery without a weapon, etc.). I guarantee you they were school dropouts or were just passed through the education system to get rid of them. These are the people who need help, prison makes no sense until they are given the education or psychological help they need to be productive citizens. 

So instead of doing the same thing and getting the same results... let’s use seniors as mentors and business for on-the-job training and prison facilities for just the truly evil people in this country. Let’s use common sense, have real discussions and try something different, not pass one more ineffective gun law.

 Sheldon is a resident of Whitefish.