Monday Mantra: TBD

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: To Be Determined

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When I started writing this post, the "TBD" was for me. It was because I had a million thoughts in my head and I was trying to figure out which one to focus on. But it became more than that. It became the theme of what is happening in America with our political problems, the question of what will come: To be determined.

I find it ridiculous that in the year 2015, where we have mind boggling amounts of resources at the tips of our fingers, we have not found a way to stop the gun violence, to stop sex trafficking, to solve completely solvable problems. I know this seems contradictory of the other post I recently wrote, but not exactly. My particular frustration is this: We have the ability to solve these completely solvable problems, but we don't. Why? Because of politics, red tape, the inability to get to the root cause of issues.

Gun control is not complicated. It's not easy, but it's not impossible to solve, either. This is one problem our country is facing that can be fixed, slowly, but fixed nonetheless. First, the laws need to change. This won't solve everything, but it is a step in the right direction. More action will need to be taken...recovering weapons already in the wrong hands, recalling weapons that are unnecessary, educating people. Education is always part of every answer.

But after, what's the count now...something like 300 shootings in 2015...we still haven't made any changes. Rights are not affected by making it harder to purchase a gun. The second amendment is safe and sound. Consider this: Australia had a problem with gun control. They fixed it by changing the law (read more here). I mean really, they made a hell of a difference in their country. Yet, our toll has far surpassed theirs and we have done nothing. Nothing. What exactly will it take? How many people have to die? Does it have to be someone famous? Someone important? Does it have to be someone near and dear to each and every one of us before we realize the danger in the current simplicity of buying a gun?

Purchasing a weapon that has the ability to launch a bullet that can tear through human flesh and end life should require a lot of paperwork and a decent amount of time to review the paperwork. Simple as that. It should not be as easy as buying toilet paper from Target.

We are wasting so much time and life right now. We are quite literally allowing ourselves to be destroyed from the inside out.

It is not difficult to change the gun laws. You know how I know that? Because laws get passed and changed all the time. Stupid, insane laws. For instance, in Florida it's illegal to have sex with a porcupine. One dumb-ass did this and an entire law got passed. You know what's worse? There are dozens of these ridiculous laws in our country! In Alabama it's illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket. In Nevada it's illegal to drive a camel on the highway. In Ohio it's illegal to get a fish drunk. And if you live in Wisconsin and you're a hairdresser, you probably want to move because it's illegal to cut women's hair.

?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?

What an incredible waste of time and resources. If our lawmakers have time to pass laws like this, then they have way too much time on their hands and not enough brain cells.

Will our country be destroyed because we're too stubborn to change the law? Will more children, more innocent adults, be victims because of our inability to make change that matters? I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

TBD