O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion.
Robert Burns
The insight of Scottish poet Robbie Burns into the hubris that beguiles both individuals and nations is particularly applicable to the pervasive gun culture that defines the United States of America. Where else in the developed world is to be found such a protracted litany of massacres of innocent citizens perpetrated by fellow citizens; where else is such a ubiquitous bearing of arms by civilians sanctioned and celebrated even in the face of such barbarity and suffering of its own citizens?
Aside from the shattering of loving families and communities, and knowing of the relentless personal grief that too many must carry for a lifetime, the major casualty here is the U.S. itself. From the perspective of a friendly neighbour and ally who appreciates the potential nobility of this uniquely remarkable nation, it’s a great tragedy that the culture of gun violence debases the country, robs it of its moral authority, and inhibits its citizens.
It is this that is at the root of our deep concern and sadness as we witness a U.S. that is seemingly incapable of protecting its own citizens from gun violence on the part of others, this time in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, earlier in Santa Fe, Texas, in Florida and Las Vegas, etc., each only the latest in a seemingly endless series (hundreds already this year!) in too many other communities throughout the U.S.
With the obvious support of President Donald Trump, the powerful gun lobby continues to intimidate to the point of silence a majority of politicians. Ironically, it is some of these same politicians, reaping great political advantage by virtue of their
