Local columnist Frank Gray had a very good article in yesterday's paper. In it, he talked about making resolutions for the new year, which I think is all well and good, providing you sincerely plan to keep them. And like any "promise", don't make it unless you intend to KEEP it (thanks, Dad...it still works for me).
I, therefore like to keep mine simple, and apparently so does Frank.
Here's the entire article:
He basically said he'd make an "easy" one this year; not to KILL anyone.
All I can say is that Frank honestly "gets it". And I'm totally with him on this with one..."small"...provision. I will not kill either...UNLESS I feel the health or safety of myself, my family, or my friends is in imminent danger. Sometimes life doesn't allow for any other option.
Then I WOULD kill...immediately, because any hesitation will kill YOU...JUST as quickly. And I would hope that I can still do it with 1 shot (always practice your point-shooting).
But Frank's right...life WOULD be better if EVERYONE thought as he does regarding not killing anyone. The only problem is that damn human ability of CHOICE keeps getting in the way. It would still be a good resolution to make, none the less.
Frank puts it this way: "Still, this year (referring to 2007) plenty of people broke that resolution, some because they had no choice, but others because they just didn’t have what it took to keep such a simple promise to themselves. They killed wives because they were going to leave them and killed acquaintances because they got into two-bit spats. They killed people so they could take their cars for joyrides before abandoning them, killed people because they were in the way of the bullet intended for someone else. They killed people for dissing them and killed others, for want of a better term, because they didn’t run in their crowd."
Curiously, there is no mention of shooting anyone for self-defense. I would take it that Frank believes that acting in self-defense is not the thrust of his article, but rather actively going on the offensive with intent to kill. Frank continues, as he wonders what goes through the mind of someone just about to shoot another person.
Well, Frank, the short version goes something like this:
You have set your mind on ONE thing, namely eliminating a threat to YOU, and you know, without a doubt that the next few tenths of a second will result IN that threat being eradicated, so that YOU (and maybe those around you) can continue TO LIVE.
Simple, huh?
That's the textbook response for rules of engagement.
(defensively -speaking)
What goes through the minds of the street thug, or the jilted lover, or anyone else wishing to sate their criminal libido, is nothing more than achieving their goal of pulling that trigger when their needs aren't met (much like a spoiled child). This "tantrum" always has dire consequences. They are not eliminating ANY threat, as there never WAS a threat to THEM...THEY ARE the threat. We call it "transference". They cannot perceive another AS a (real) threat, or even admit that THEY are the threat, so they manufacture a threat (anyone else) to divert it away from themselves. In that, they become emboldened enough to callously pull a trigger, tossing consequences to the wind.
And that's why too many INNOCENT people are killed by random gunfire. It's also the primary reason that any "gun control" law would never work (except to disarm the law-abiding populace). The bullet doesn't know any better...it's the PERSON wielding the weapon that FIRES that bullet who is accountable. That's like blaming your car when YOU are driving drunk.
Now, I could also go on record as saying that "if" I were to break Frank's resolution (and mine), I could, in all likelihood make our city a much safer place to live, simply BY pulling some triggers and eliminating a LOT of threats (actual - NOT perceived). I like to think of it as "Urban Renewal" of the best kind...and it works. Give the criminals a "bloody nose" first...and often, and they will go somewhere else (if they're still alive). Granted, it's NOT the perfect solution, but one has to admit that we DO live in a far from perfect world (or city).
And since current laws don't allow such "positive social" activity to be the norm, I wake up every morning and plainly state that "I will not kill anyone today (provisionally speaking)". And I have to admit that there are quite a few people out there (just in my neighborhood) that are benefiting daily from that adherence to my "daily edification" of not killing anyone. Problem is, they're not aware of it....and maybe they SHOULD be.
Perhaps knowing that they're always a heartbeat away from eternity might sober them up. I know there ARE situations that do it quite well...ask anyone who's been in combat...or any other position where death can come at the snap of a finger, or the crack of a firearm.
And with that, there is no need for any type of "forgiveness". You do what you need to do, as the situation requires for self-preservation. That's instinctual. You can run from the threat, but that could just get you shot in the back. If the threat is eliminated, you go on living.
Basically stated, we, as a race (the HUMAN one that is) are NOT violent by nature. We become violent by NURTURE. It's all the ancillary input we receive as we grow up that comes from our family, friends, surroundings, and experiences that determine who and what we eventually will become, or at least what we can become capable of. Any one of us can go from Jekyll to Hyde in seconds, given the proper "motivation". Like the character David Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk) used to say: "Don't make me angry...you won't like me when I'm angry".
And that is something we ALL have inside us...the mindless primitive...otherwise called the ID. Some people just mentally allow that boy to come out and play a lot more often that the rest of us...and with the usual results.
As Frank would no doubt agree, it STILL comes down to personal accountability and personal responsibility. The net result is to simply not succumb to those aspects of life that can only produce more harm to everyone involved.
And that's why Frank won't kill today.
Nor will I.
How about you?
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