Friday, April 22, 2022

License to Kill

 


The news for  the past months has been brutal, sad and sickening. We are witnessing killing, hate,destruction, good and evil.One time, Russia was our ally and Japan, Germany and Italy were enemies. Things have changed.  The Russian invasion by Putin was despicable and his reasoning suspect.  Words like” war criminal,””crimes against humanity” and  “genocide” have  labeled Putin correctly. How can  war be classified other than being criminal?  This essay relates to the permission to  kill.


Early in man’s history,there was  evidence of  bashed skulls , human sacrifice, and jealous leaders  of a horde, killing and banishing a rival son for dominance. Cannibalism also was present. Thus, man killed man.


The Old Testament  identified one of man’s sin’s: “thou shall not kill.”   Unfortunately, that message is mixed and filled with ambivalence.  For example, the parting of the Red Sea  saved the Levites,in about 1350 BCE, but killed the Pharaoh Ramsey and his Egyptian army in pursuit.  Also, Noah and his family were saved but not the others with God’s great flood. Thus, the authoritarian father figure Jahve had a license to kill.Further, I did not forget about Pontius Pilate’s killing of Jesus.


Samson was a hero as he killed  bad Philistines.  However, Samson committed suicide when he destroyed the worshiping Philistines at their temple.  David killed Goliath with a slingshot and Esther and Judah Maccabee had their victory over the evil Syrian general. In addition to the  stories of good and bad, we find the passage in Leviticus “and a man who injures his countrymen……. eve for eye ,tooth  for tooth…. so it will be given to him” which is permission and justification to avenge.Yes,the license to kill was established historically.


 TV , movies ,video games and novels have done a masterful job with historical re-creations with themes of killing , good versus evil, and revenge.A few illustrations follow: Alexander, Spartacus, Cleopatra, Ben Hur and Dr. Zhivago.  Early action heroes starting with Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Earol Flynn, John Wayne, Gary Cooper and many others did their part. We now have  Daniiel Craig, Sylvester Stallone, Matt Damon, Dwayne Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day- Lewis, Al Pachino, Robert De Niro and many others doing the same. We see movie thrillers:  Avatar, Lord of the Rings,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,Game of Thrones, Pulp Fiction, Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood and Yellowstone, to name just a few doing likewise.  Do not forget about movies with Generals: Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower, and of course George Washington-   killing galore  with the good guys winning at the end.  Sometimes  it’s hard to find morals- who is good from who’s bad. Do not forget the government’s message in the James Bond and Mission Impossible movies - you are on  your own -government is not responsible for your behavior. Marvel Comics has contributed with the   glorification of killing “ evil.”Please don’t forget the Winchester ‘73 movie with James Stewart and the famous rifle.Thus, license to kill has been beautifully modeled by the protagonists .



Government decides who can kill and who can't kill based on the laws and the Supreme Court.  In fact,our government even pays individuals to become experts at killing. Just yesterday, one Marine on TV stated  that he was helping train  Ukrainians in their fight against evil and being invaded.  He also said  that his tours in Afghanistan  were not what he was trained for and that he experienced dissonance while on tour in that war.



We also have capital punishment which is supposed to reduce killing.  Per capita state execution rate rankings  based on 2019 population per 100,000 residents  were:  28 .Washington 0.07  29. New Mexico  0.05 30. Oregon 0.05  31 California  0.03. Also,  statistical ranking  of gun deaths per capita by state:1.  Alaska 2.  Alabama 3.  Montana  4.  Louisiana 5.  Mississippi 6.  Missouri 7.  Arkansas 8.  Wyoming  9.  West Virginia 10.  New Mexico.  On the other hand, these states have the lowest gun deaths per capita and have the lowest gun ownership in the United States: 1.  Massachusetts 2.  New York 3.  New Jersey4.   Hawaii 5.  Rhode Island.


Forget morality, we  have  gone to license to kill by our police force.  Everytown  Research  and Policy in a titled  article “America’s  gun violence epidemic includes gun violence by police.”Statistically,  every year police. in America, shoot and kill more than 1000 people; 96%  of the deaths of civilians caused by police are with a firearm and Black people are  the victims  at a disproportionate rate-they are nearly 3 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white people.A few days ago,In Grand Rapids, Michigan a black individual was lying facedown on the ground with the white police officer on his back. The officer  shot him in the back of the head.  The so-called reason for the initial stop of this black man had to do with some inconsistent license plate data.


Killing is done in all the states with some more and some less.  Gun ownership and killing is a symptom along with fear, poverty,education,and illness. This is our historical pattern : 1.  Horrible killings of children as in Sandy Hook Elementary and Marjory Stoneman Douglas  High School 2.  Public outrage with 24-7  TV coverage 3.  Political rhetoric about gun violence, background checks, automatic weapons legislation etc. 4.  Social media and other sources regarding Second Amendment rights, Government taking of guns etc. 5.  Ammunition and gun sales become all time highs. Thus,  scare the populace to increase demand so the demand  exceeds the supply.  In essence, profits as we witness capitalism at work.


Our government has the largest military in the world and the great majority of its budget is related to defense.  We go to war in order to protect our interests, which are related to resources regardless of location.  Generally, war is based on acquiring territory, resources and oppressing people .  Eisenhower pointed out the  power of the military-industrial complex within the capitalistic model.  We were told going to war in the Middle East was based on an enemy who had weapons of mass destruction.Earlier we had  sold him arms . Putin is our current enemy and Russia actually has weapons of mass destruction.So we are at war again by providing military and humanitarian aid. Some of our corporations continue to benefit. Do not forget the Second Amendment in our Constitution, which also is a license to kill.


In  summary, the history of man,in large part, is illustrated with hate,revenge, killing,war,destruction and misery.  We have glorified good versus bad with revenge. Politics has mastered the ability to increase fear in order to motivate its subjects.  Politics is also excellent at  providing solutions, as in gun purchase, as a remedy, as well as permission  given in the Second Amendment or license to kill. Civilization established  sin and then we created laws defining good and bad. Unfortunately, too many Homo sapiens act on their malignant impulses and kill.  Weapons are a good profit product in the capitalistic economic system. Just look at all the people fighting in various parts of the world and marvel at their weapons.  With that being said,it leads me to  John Lennon.  Although Lennon was not a saint,  for him to be murdered? Yes, Homo sapiens  by physiological and psychological design , have  acquired the potential to kill. Too many  Homo sapiens act on that potential and do kill. The county is limited from making society safer because of the driving force of capitalism, the constitution and our Republic. Morality  is dead, which means God is also.  We have undivided faith in Capitalism which we  currently worship .Now, a quote by Thomas Aquinas.  “ To one who has faith, no explanation  is necessary.. To one without faith, no explanation is possible;” and another by Martin Luther King Jr. “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”


 A couple of considerations regarding school shootings: 1.  Deny media attention  for the shooter. Do not provide him 5 minutes of fame. The motivation of his hate of self and others are irrelevant. No relevance of his story to be gained  on TV for the public . His consequences  will be either being killed as in self suicide or finding justice with incarceration.  His contribution to society is hatred and should be ignored.  2.  Provide media attention to the victims, families; school, local politicians and community  for their plans, suggestions and implementation of programs for betterment.


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