Of Children and of Guns.

[PLARS1999]

18. Good luck, Sir.

We live in a country of excess, we are taught from a young age that being able to attain excess is the sign that you have achieved your goal.

Our excessive culture takes many more forms than just private ownership of assault weapons. Look around your neighborhood.

My neighbor to the left drives a Ford F350 diesel pick up during the week and sometimes his mid 90s Corvette on the weekends. He commutes 45 miles each way to his office. He does not work in construction, does not own a trailer, is not a DIY fixer upper that hauls plywood on the weekends, he drives a 7,000 pound truck that gets 8mpg because he can. He could easily afford a Prius on the cost of fuel savings alone but doesn't care, he is happy with his truck.

My neighbor on the right easily weighs 300 pounds. He is a fantastic cook and I must say I've enjoyed it every time he invites us over. The amount of food the man eats in one sitting could feed both my wife and I with some left over. He has a family history of weight problems, makes no effort to exercise or control his intake and is comfortable enough with himself he won't make a move to change either.

Even myself. I have fairly simple tastes. I enjoy my garden, I read on occasion when my son lets me, I have even been known to throw my canoe in the water. I also have a GSX-R 750. When the weather is right you will find me anywhere from High Point to Baltimore. Some days I stay at a reasonable speed, some days with the right friends I hit 130-140mph. I know it's not safe, I know it's not legal, I know could kill myself and in the back of my head I know I could maybe even hurt someone else.

Gun owners have a right to own guns, there will always be an argument as to what is excessive for civilian ownership. There will always be hunters that say you shouldn't hunt if you need more than one shot. There will always be military enthusiasts who feel left behind if the Abrams A1 tank they buy does not come with a functioning main gun. There will always be what my Korean War Veteran grandfather called "peace loving hippies" that don't believe in any civilian gun ownership.

The problem is we have a culture of excess, we have a culture of apathy, we have a culture of violence and we have become a nation that is happy to sit at home and watch tv as long as we are warm and fed without a care for the world outside.

And here we are, you are trying to change the world by posting online in a forum were 95% of the legitimate members are just going to "hear, hear" and slap your back. You may arouse the trolls but to what end?

Get off your couch, become a Big Brother, volunteer as a coach, answer phones for a suicide hotline, give a chance to a kid who will be in prison or a gang before he is old enough to vote. There are thousands of children in this country that don't have a good home life like you give your children. Everyone here seems to have forgotten that 98% of murders that occur with firearms are not "mass shootings." Is an 8 year old getting shot on a Chicago street less tragic than the murders at Sandy Hook because it wasn't on the news? Every loss of life is tragic, get out and help those who need it, help the ones you can.