Let's vote for common sense. The simple truth is PEOPLE kill PEOPLE and they will do it with whatever they have in their possession. California has one of the STRICTEST gun control laws in the USA but that will never stop a thief or a murder from getting a weapon on the black market.
This crap going around about the Americans being world conquerers is such nonsence!! For example, I was in Hiroshima in 1990 walking through Peace Park when I bumped into a Japanese couple and I said, "I am so sorry for what happened" The father said, "Why are you sorry for?" I said, "I am sorry that Americans dropped the bomb and caused so much destruction." He looked at me puzzled and said, "It was NOT America's fault." I was dumbfounded. I said, "Who's fault is it?" He graciously replied, "It was our Emperors fault because he lied to us!" I did not understand what he meant until I interviewed a WWII Veteran who told me that he could not sleep at night. I asked him why. He said, "When my ship was entering the harbor in Okinawa, Japan all I could see was dead bodies floating. What horrified me was it was all women and children. When we walked to the dock we saw many Japanese women frightened of us. All we did was give them blankets, canned soup and chocolate bars. They were stunned that we were so friendly!!" I asked him why were they so afraid and he said, "Word got out from their Emperor that the Americans will rape your women and kill your children. So many Japanese threw themselves off a cliff rather that be brutally killed by Americans." My friend could not believe how many killed themselves because of that lie. In fact most of what their Emperor told them was lies.
Another example of the real America came to light when I was in Hawaii talking to a Japanese sailor. He was sad about what happened in Pearl Harbor. I told him that was a corrupt government who made the people believe that Americans were the aggressors. He said he loves to help Americans who come to his country because he owes a dept that he can never repay. I asked him "What are you talking about?" He said "When General MacArthur took over and Japan was occupied his family lost everything. But then you Americans helped to rebuild our country and gave me back all the land my father owned. I was a wealthy man overnight." I was very touched by his story. I asked him what does he think about what happened to Hawaii in Pearl Harbor. He replied, "That's just it. If the Japanese took over and continued to bomb Hawaii we might have won. However, we would not have been so gracious. If we won in the Pacific we would have kept everything especially Hawaii. So I don't understand why America is so generous but I will always be eternally grateful to all of you."
People who lived during WWII experienced much more turbulent times than today. America has had it share of faults but so has France, Great Britain and Spain. So just because few lousy terrorist that are insane we must not point fingers at ourselves. We are good people who
Pray for Peace as love always conquers hate. But unfortunately we must also "Pack a piece" for self defence against terroist and tyrants.
Forgive me, but I read this before. Did you post it as an article?
I agree with you that killers are killers and will find whatever means necessary to do their killing for their crazed ideologies. And, compared with the threat of World War II and even the nuclear threat of Cold War, today's very few incidents of terrorist lunacy whether it be external or internal, is more like the daily traffic accident carnage, merely a matter of being in the wrong place wrong time and not a matter of major national alert, at least, at this time. 9/11 was an exception, but nothing like it has incurred since.
However, for four years my brother and I used guns for hunting on a regular basis. During that time I recall three accidents: I shot my cousin in the head with 16gauge birdshot while attempting to shoot a flying grouse at a range of about 100 yards. My brother's 12gauge shotgun's stock broke while we were walking together down the railroad track. The barrel fell forward and discharged about 4 inches from his foot and about 3 feet from me walking alongside. One day while checking out my shotgun in my bedroom, I accidentally chambered a shell and closed the bolt while there was a shell in the chamber. The primer was dented, but fortunately, did not go off. As children, we routinely found and showed our cousins my dad's sawed-off shotgun when they came to visit.
Like an automobile, having a gun in one's possession is not a matter of if you will have an accident (or may use it accidentally in anger), but when. (I just had a major car accident).
Also, my travels did not involve me going to war memorials but staying in the homes of people with cultures far different from my own. I found these people more like us… Good, kind, and generous. I think that people that travel only among other Americans, stay in hotels, and on guided tours are the kind of people who give Americans a bad name overseas. We are not superior in any way, we are all just humans trying to make our way in the world.
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
Reflections and Nature Watercolors is a collection of Margaret's spontaneous positive thoughts in celebrating and reflecting on life and her nature watercolors.
