Simple Misdirection

The American standard of living is so high that young people petition the government for deprivation. I can find no other example of this in all of human history. There have been times where interest groups petitioned the government for vicarious deprivation—that is—they wanted the state to levy burdens on clearly defined “others”. This is no simple case of identity politics. This is different.

I.

President Trump’s recent listening session featured a student who survived the Parkland shooting. Tearfully, he contemplated the circumstances which brought him there: “…I don’t understand why I can still go in a store and buy a weapon of war.” I know this because the media has been exploiting this young man and other recently traumatized classmates without pause for the last 24 hours. As is customary, the most emotionally charged sound bites were spliced together to create a 30 second propaganda piece, entirely devoid of actual news.

This particular moment of grief may have told a larger story that is not readily apparent. Why did this young man place himself in the shooter’s position? He asked why he—presumably an ordinary citizen in good legal standing—could go into a store and purchase a weapon. Let us assume his question was not scripted or rehearsed, and that it was borne of a genuine desire for closure. It is inarguable that a specific tragedy directly caused his current distress. A long series of inferences, however, is required to go from “my friend was killed” to “why do I have this right?”.

II.

Most unsettling is not the dubiety of his connections, but the sincerity of his convictions. He is not alone in unwittingly implying a superhuman prescience. Most of the children who are currently engaged in the anti-gun movement, or as some might say, “pleading for their lives”, are steadfast in the belief that the common forfeiture of certain rights will result in greater personal security for all.

It is not entirely their fault. As other articles have already mentioned, maturity is currently in short supply. Increasing prosperity has resulted in de facto segregation. Well-intentioned parents raise their children in completely controlled environments, leaving them entirely unprepared to surmount even the slightest of obstacles. Their experiences reinforce dependence and absolve responsibility. Naturally, once they venture out of their second womb, they expect an omnipotent government—a big brother of sorts—to look after them.

Self-reliance is a foreign concept, as is normal human interaction. An entire generation of delusional, self-centered people—I mean incredibly special and unique people—have grown up as the stars of their own personal movies. Who has time to develop normal relationships when everyone is so damn exceptional? After 18 (or 30) years of having their every prejudice nurtured, the free exchange of ideas becomes “hate speech”. A word is no longer measured by its objective meaning, only by the degree to which it offends the sensibilities of affluent shut-ins.

Much like with actual children, freedom is an abstract notion that only grown-ups care about, and validation is a consuming obsession. This frame of mind is not at all conducive to being an adult. There is a substantial risk of losing humanity and becoming entirely subsumed into a fixed narrative of absolutes. This is the modus operandi of fundamentalist groups; they are openly hostile to anything contrary to their self-imposed narrative, and their highest honor is validation as a martyr. School shootings are domestic acts of terror, not byproducts of insufficient legislation. The sooner we recognize this, the sooner we can do something about it.

Culture is the cause of these terror attacks, and culture is the cause of the ensuing melodramatic response. It is not the easy scapegoat of violent (insert media here), it is the collective denial of an objective reality. We have become increasingly polarized not because we have divergent philosophies, but because we lack a common language.

Our nation was founded on the idea that we are universally endowed with unalienable rights. The modern conception of “rights” is official government sanction of personal preferences. People want legislation affirming their every proclivity as not only acceptable, but unassailable. Everywhere there are self-defined groups making vague demands for that which they have uniquely been denied. Of course, the only “right” that ever surfaces is the right to prosecute people who disagree.

Constant protests have made us numb to the pervasive idiocy which spawns them. There are no more wars to be ended or injustices to be remedied. Sometimes there are disturbing (though still based in reality) reasons, such as prohibiting conservative/moderate/rational people from speaking. More often, masses of people gather to project generalized angst for unspecified ends. They are almost a sort of unrequited therapy session in an echo chamber, demanding an external solution to their internal feelings.

At some point the old adage of “you can be anything you want when you grow up” turned into “you are already whatever you want and you never have to grow up”. The most privileged group of people in world history has a chronic victim complex. In its more benign form, you have snowflake jokes and safe spaces. In its more dangerous form, you have an unstable population with a very low threshold for adversity.

How many school shooters have been poor or working class? How many had part-time jobs, played sports, or bore even the slightest burden of responsibility? The common thread, from Adam Lanza to Elliot Rodger to Nikolas Cruz, is unmitigated affluenza. There is no mystery surrounding these utterly unremarkable figures; they are children crying out for attention. Gun ownership has been a normal part of American life for centuries. Sociopathy by isolation was relatively uncommon until the 21st Century. First-world problems indeed.

III.

There are imaginary threats around every corner, how convenient it is that all of them have legislative solutions. Did someone disagree with you? Hurt your feelings? Fail to check one of the many varieties of privilege you assigned them? If you can think of it, Congress can fix it.

A frighteningly large contingent of our population believes that there is a “gun control” issue. Acceptance of that paradigm is an offer to compromise constitutionally protected rights. To what end? To provide a false sense of security to people entirely disconnected from reality? Should we ban closets for being known repositories of monsters?

The precedent set by damaging the second amendment will encourage renewed attacks on the first. Worse, it may not even be necessary. Our republic will not be lost by constitutional amendment or creative legal interpretation. The end comes not when we lose our freedom to speak, but when we lose our ability to listen.