Mayan Christmas

As we celebrate this Christmas, jokingly using the last Mayan Calendar as a caveat of things preceding today, it is also a Christmas where 20 kids were unable to attend because of 1 mad man. 8 adults were also taken away from the world in the incident in Connecticut. And then there is the killing of firefighters in New York, which generated much less fanfare. Yet to me, both are equally upsetting. One taking innocence away. One taking goodwill and courage away.

Of course, if you read my last post, you know I am disappointed by many from Singapore chattering about gun laws for USA that they have no business in. I am neutral to gun law or lawlessness since the landscape here is too chaotic for gun laws to be adhered to. I do not believe in telling other countries how to do things, and that belief is held upon people who I interact with as well.

Now, I read a lot about whether or not to have gun laws. But the reality remains, the perpetrators do not care what we think. Like the people I talked to in Singapore who called for bans on guns without considering that some might have a legitimate reason to own guns, such as living in a dangerous neighborhood, criminals thrived on the advantage that they are armed and we aren't. Yea, some people thrive on not having guns. Most of us are lucky not to have to deal with situations that might involve a gun. Others may not be.

But the problem cannot be completely solved by everyone owning guns. Like all things in life, power, here in owning a weapon that can easily end a life, comes with responsibility. And the real problem right now is that many who wield power does not carry out their duties. Politicians bicker over a small deal that doesn't come close to scratching the surface of our debt problem. Newspapers selling drama rather than facts. People preferring style over substance. Well, I'm a bit of style over substance myself, but I digressed to show my understanding of my own weaknesses. In short, not everyone should own a gun simply because many will misuse them in times of need.

The question that come to my mind about the gun issue is, how did the perps get the guns? Or other criminals? Is it the same way the guns ended up in the gang lands of Mexico? Is the black market so powerful in getting anybody whatever they wished for given enough money? Are we missing something?

As humans, we always are missing something. That is the key to minimizing the gun problem. Copying Australia doesn't help if we can't account for the guns in the black market. Copying Singapore won't work, well, even for a day. The reality starts with whether we care. I care about the people I know of. When I heard about Newtown, instead of crying for gun bans, I actually wish I am at the scene of the incident with a gun, assault caliber or not, to take down that coward. I don't like to have guns but if I need to use one, I will. Same thing when I heard that firefighters are killed in an ambush.

It doesn't matter what laws we have because if we don't enforce it properly, the laws end up hurting us more than protecting us. Law will just become the weapon of the elected, the pen that constricts us of our sanity. One question I have for gun ban cry-ers when the incident happened: Why would we deprive the victims a means to defend themselves when we know that many criminals already have a weapon?

So before anyone starts talking about gun laws or banning guns or just about not having gun laws, stop for a moment, dissociate from the environment that requires you to be near any form of protection or a gun and take time to hug every loved one you know. Because until we all gain the wisdom to wield the power of a weapon, be it a pen or a gun, the problem will always linger and none of us can ever be too safe. Justice will fail to prevail from time to time. The solution we should be going after is to lower that failure rate, not eradicate it, because it is part and parcel of our life. For now, we can only hope that the sanity we have in us will keep us safe.

I can only look forward to the next moment I have with my loved ones because even after the Mayan Calendar ended, humanity has not stopped failing its lofty perception of itself.