Pistols, Prozac, Rifles and Ritalin
It appears to me that America is a country of great contradictions. A peace loving nation that wages war (77 in just over 200 years), the country that boasts the highest standard of living yet suffers from the greatest obesity and heart disease. The OECD rates U.S education at 36th in the world just above Lithuania but trailing the Slovak Republic, Russia, Latvia and Viet Nam.
By far the greatest and most dangerous contradiction that currently exists in the United States is that they are the biggest consumers and producers of psychiatric medication in the world and at the same time have some of the most liberal laws in the world pertaining to gun ownership. Any fool can work out that a high number of mentally ill people in a society that proliferate fire arms like baseball cards and bubble gum, will be prone to the odd massacre. So I am left wondering, how can a country so blessed with resources and wealth have got it so wrong?
America is a sensible country? Surely they are getting a grip on the problem? Statistics would imply the contrary. Between 1990 and 2000 (the time in which the Columbine tragedy occurred) there were 32 reported shootings in U.S schools. One would believe the Columbine massacre must have been enough to inspire legislation limiting the chances of such an event recurring. 2001 – 2010, 50 gun related incidents in U.S schools. So it must be a multifaceted, complex, nebulous problem that it will take time, but while school children wait for Washington to deal with the problem it’s worth noting that from 2011 to date there have been 70 gun related incidents at schools leaving 93 people dead and 96 injured. While America respects the right every child has to an education, it also seems to think they will learn better under the very real fear of being gunned down whilst they’re handing in their homework.
As I stated earlier the United States are the biggest producers and consumers of psychiatric pharmaceuticals making it an incredibly lucrative industry, the sector of society that has seen greatest growth in the use of anti-depressants are people aged between 16 and 24. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)11% of all Americans over the age of 12 are on anti depressants, how many of these do you want armed? Mentally ill students, easy access to guns, school shootings, I still don’t get it, what’s the connection?
Eli Lilly the pharmaceutical company most well known for producing Prozac has spent more than $35,000,000 dollars in lobbying during the period 2010 -2014. To put that in perspective that compares to the NRA’s slightly less than $12,000,000 for the same period. But surely that is the question how can these two industries co-exist in lobbying a government. I would imagine Eli Lilly try to convince senators that everyone’s mad and needs medication, meanwhile the NRA state the importance that everyone has at least one firearm. These two opinions cannot co exist, they simply contradict one another, one has to be right and the other wrong, you cannot allow the two such diametrically opposed issues to exist at the same time. A responsible government cannot accept its population having a greater dependency on psychiatric drugs and the listen to a group of people pursuing greater liberty to own firearms. The fact that these two arguments get given consideration has lead to the two agendas coalescing into the situation allowing mentally ill people to be armed.
Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Seung –Hui Cho, Adam Lanza and Elliot Rodger, responsible for the deaths 78 people and then themselves. Prior to their actions each one of them had received support for mental illness. How can young mentally ill men gain access to firearms, you wouldn’t allow a blind person to drive. The acts of these 5 men were abominable but society failed to protect them and their victims. With the memory of Isla Vista still fresh in our minds, I ask myself when will this once great nation acknowledge this problem, get serious and deal with it?
If you feel angry, or misrepresented do something about it. When Benjamin Franklin left Independence Hall just after the second drafting he was approached by a woman on the street, the woman said ‘Mr. Franklin what manner of government have you bequeathed us?’ And Franklin said ‘a Republic mam; if you can keep it.’ The responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are strong and we are free of tyranny, as long as each one of us remembers his or her duty as a citizen. Whether it’s to report a pothole at the top of your street, or lies in a State of the Union address, speak out, ask questions. Democracy is not a free ride. Constitutionally each American is empowered with the right and due process to change their country. As long as you stay sitting there, turning a blind eye, doing nothing you become complicit in the next Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Columbine or Isla Vista.
How many more candle lit vigils before you think enough is enough?
Below is the link to the video Elliot Rodger made just prior to him killing 6 people then himself:
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