The Jonesboro Killings

By Bob Wilson

I grew up about 100 miles from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I, as well as just about everyone I knew as a kid growing up, was exposed to the presence of firearms as a part of the culture. I frequently went hunting after school for recreation. Watching TV was an activity consigned to about one hour a day (usually after dinner.) The TV fare typically consisted of programming like "I Love Lucy" "Gunsmoke" and "I've Got A Secret." Schools let out for the annual week of deer season. This was primarily because of high absenteeism if they didn't, and many teachers wanted to hunt also. I never even dreamed of pointing a gun at a human being. I don't recall knowing anyone who was injured by a gun, even accidentally. It was obvious then, that an automobile accident was far more likely to injure a friend than a gun. Why weren't guns a big social problem then?

The answer is that our culture/society has changed. Guns didn't cause the change, and removing law abiding citizen's access to guns won't change it back to the way it was 40 years ago. Actually, there are fewer guns per capita now in the U.S. than existed 40 years ago.

A "fair" question would be...What has caused our society to change? Guns? I think not. My answer is...The liberal swing of the nation, with its' defining down of values. The "no-parent" family (caused in part by the requirement of both parents to work to pay taxes) and a resultant access (by small kids) to entertainment media violence. The media frequently answers the assertions that their programs incite violent behavior with the "chicken/egg" dilemma. In truth, blaming "the media" is pointless because if the consumer demand were not there, the product (media violence) would not exist. With the level of gore and violence it now takes to entertain a movie/TV audience, the public is totally desensitized. Lack of parenting is the reason kids are viewing media violence.

Ban guns? To the contrary, if ever a citizen needed a gun for their own protection, the time is now. We need them to protect us from the soul-less little monsters being spawned by parents who have no intention of raising their kids. They want "A Village" to do it for them.


Bob Wilson is an Arizona pilot and businessman who writes regularly for The Ethical Spectacle.