TERRY MOSHER

The March for Our Lives is a noble and right thing. No question about it. We need as a society to find a solution to lives being snuffed out by the use of guns against innocent people, many of them our young. We need security against our own.

I get it, the march. My wife Mary marched in one. I’m afraid, though, that marches aren’t going to be enough. It’s good that we can still peacefully protest without fear of being arrested, but the root problem of too many guns – especially assault weapons that can fire hundreds of rounds a minute  (an AK-47 can fire up to 600 rounds of ammunition per minute)  are not necessary for a civilian population – is with our congressman

As long as your representative to Congress is bought and sold by special interests in this country and those special interest want them to protect their interest in guns that allow gun owners to purchase assault weapons or weapons that can fire multiple rounds as fast as they can pull the trigger and get them without proper vetting, then we are going to have mass shootings.

I’m not an advocate against banning guns. Even if I was, there is no way now to put the genie back in the bottle. There are too many guns out there to confiscate even if you tried, which I would not recommend.

I grew up (if I ever grew up) in a period of time when the population of this country was around 170 million. As of last year the population had swollen to 326.7 million. That’s almost double what it was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

That much increase of population has certainly done much to cause increase tension because more and more of us are living closer together in more confined spaces. Increased tensions can cause eruptions, which can cause, well; you know what it can cause.

Coupled with increased population we are now facing the devil of social media and instant news. I was a young lad in a time when there wasn’t a lot of news and it didn’t travel so fast. We might not hear of some news for days after it occurred.

Now with social media, we are flooded with instant news and it comes crashing down on us like an avalanche. On top of that, the news might not even be true, or it might be distorted by people or organizations that have an agenda (such as influencing an election).

So we are all under bombardment by anybody who has a keyboard and an Internet connection. It can cause anxiety, especially among our children. Unlike some of us who are older than the mountains around us, our youngsters are living under constant strain from that avalanche of news – most of it ranging from bad to horrific ‑ from almost anyplace on the globe.

All of the above is a clear receipt for danger from somebody upset at girlfriend or from a personal slight, and because our society is loaded with guns it’s easy for that person to grab one and open fire.

As long as the gun lobby has all that influence over our congressman, this long nightmare will go on and we will have to take counter measures to protect ourselves and our children. Maybe all public facilities, including our schools, need to have metal detectors installed along with security personnel in the buildings.

But the real answer is to overcome the apathy that seems to affect us during elections. Oh, it is said, my one vote doesn’t count anyway, so why should I vote? That is precisely why you should vote. Poll power it the best way to get the attention of your congressman.

We need to remember that the government is us. We the people own it. So vote, vote, vote, vote, and exercise your right. Vote the congressman who are bought and paid for by special interests out of office.

Take back your country. Don’t let the billionaires and special interest groups take away what you own – your government. Your vote is greater than their billions. You have the power. Use it.

Be well pal.

Be careful out there.

Have a great day.

You are loved.