Anarchy in the USA

Editorial

Recently, 40-year-old Robert Card fired a gun indiscriminately in the US city of Lewiston. Twenty-two people were killed on the spot and hundreds were seriously injured. The death toll is likely to rise.

Robert is known to be an expert shooter. He has not yet been arrested by the Police; but since he has a gun, if he creates more chaos, a dire situation could follow. The Police are desperately looking for him. Is this not a failure of the Police Administration that they have not been able to find the shooter despite the fact that he is mentally ill ?

It is said that some time back Robert was admitted to a mental health centre. If this be the case, why was there no restriction on him using arms ? Besides, what needs to be investigated is – where did a mentally ill person get weapons from. How many more mentally ill people like Robert are walking around the streets of USA carrying weapons also needs to be investigated urgently. The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office has released 2 photos of the suspect on their Facebook account. In these photos, Robert is seen shooting with a weapon on his shoulder. All strata of society have demanded from the Police that Robert be arrested at the earliest. Robert was working as a Gunnery Instructor at a training centre in the US Army. During his engagement there, he was also admitted to a mental health centre. He had threatened to fire at the army base. USA should also think why a trained shooter became a mental patient.

Failure – the other side of the coin

The USA and guns are not at all a new equation; in fact, there is hardly a place in the US where indiscriminate firing on civilians does not take place. Instances of shooting are common in schools, playgrounds, restaurants (hotels) or malls. This is the 565th instance of indiscriminate mass shooting this year in which four or more people have been killed. Over 15,000 innocent people have lost their lives in such indiscriminate shooting incidents this year. This makes a strong case to believe that American citizens are living under the shadow of terror. Even reading this makes the mind numb.

USA thus far is known to be the strongest and most powerful Nation in the world; but such plight of society is definitely shameful for it. USA is a developed Nation that is prepared to face any crisis or adversity and overcome it even if it has to incur losses. USA’s efforts are to minimise the loss of human life. As a result, the number of people who die in natural calamities has reduced; however, this is one side of the coin. The other side is the increasing number of deaths due to indiscriminate shootings. Who will stop this ? This simply highlights the failure of a developed Nation like the USA.

The US Constitution grants its citizens the right to own arms for self-defence and national security; but abuse of this right is serious and equally appalling. The original purpose of the Constitution is being side-lined. Any Tom, Dick and Harry picks up a gun and starts shooting. Therefore, this violence is taking the form of an epidemic. Although efforts are being made to bring it under control, there is an equal amount of opposition on the grounds of the rights provided by the Constitution. It is equally true that the gun culture in the capitalist USA will not die unless restrictions are imposed on gun licensing or a reasonable decision is taken about it. Since getting a gun licence is legal, violence is used for disrupting social welfare. All the law-abiding citizens expect that there be fear of law in the minds of such miscreants and anti-social elements; but as of now this seems to be a dead end. Everyone points a finger at the constitutional right to own a weapon and keeps silent.

The whole world emulates a developed Nation like USA. Many people are trying to follow in the footsteps of USA. Therefore, USA should always be aware of its responsibilities and duties. Does the US realise what a catastrophe it will be if the gun culture, nay, the perversity that exists there today, spreads all over the world tomorrow ? If this happens, there will be chaos in the whole world. USA should think how difficult it will be to control the situation then.

USA was known as a wealthy and safe Nation due to the progress it made in all the fields; but this has now been undermined by the gun culture. USA is becoming increasingly vulnerable. It is difficult to pinpoint when this region will become safe again. If the security of the citizens is to be restored, arms restriction is the only solution; but this is difficult to implement. Sadly, in USA, those who oppose the use of weapons are less than those who support their use. The situation is so dreadful that those who oppose the use of arms are themselves becoming victims of arms; yet, everyone is silent. All this is disparaging USA all over the world.

Given the anti-national impact of the gun culture, USA must now curb its violence-promoting culture. The level of security a Nation provides to its citizens is the foundation of the entire Nation; but if this foundation of USA is developing cracks, will the Nation-building take place in the true sense ? Not just USA but the international community too should study this problem in-depth and find a way out immediately.

All the law-abiding citizens expect that there be fear of law in the minds of miscreants and anti-social elements !