On Thursday, February 15th another school massacre occurred. A deranged kid with a gun took 17 lives. The dead were school children and teachers. Most of those lives were extinguished before they had begun.
We have grown accustomed to these incidents. The playbook has been written. There will be tinges of sadness followed by outrage then the political hyperbole about gun control. We will hear that this is not the time to discuss what to do while relatives and loved ones are grieving. And, of course, that old chestnut of “If there were more good people with guns…” There is always an excuse but never any concrete action to curb the violence.
So much of how America operates is dysfunctional. We are a selfish society polarized by politics and inflamed by people with ulterior motives. All of which occurs for the enrichment of the few at the expense of the many. We have become a country that is corrupt. We have not yet become a nation where bribes are expected in order to have our telephones installed. Rather we are more and more morally corrupted by our elites playing on our emotions and beliefs for their own sinister purposes.
Nothing is accomplished by our government of any substance. The perception is now more important than the actual reality. As a society we no longer believe it is wrong that the playing field is not fair. It is alright for those who know the right people to benefit at the public expense. Those very few now manipulate government on all levels for their benefit. The majority no longer counts except as backdrop.
From our educational system to our political system to our financial system, it is now all rigged to enhance those fortunate few. They have cynically taken over the levers of power as their own. They use any means necessary to enhance their positions. They have no core beliefs or principles. There is only the pursuit of power and riches.
So the little corruptions continue. Rational thought and the art of compromise no longer matter in the nation’s public life and is true in our personal ones as well. We believe some of the lies told and shut our eyes and pretend that we do for the rest. This is the America we inhabit where truths are far from self-evident and government is not for all the people.
In the not too distant past, America’s politicians and leaders would never have stood by while these massacres happened. A common sense for the common good would have prevailed. But not today! No, in the name of power and greed Americans, especially our youngest, will continue to die. It is more important that the connected few keep the false feuds going between the American people in the name of political discourse. Then those connected can amass even more money and power. These little corruptions are eating away at the fiber of our nation and ultimately will destroy it.