James Fallows refuses to give in to "jaded fatalism." But a suggestion from one of his readers would seem to be naive in the extreme.
A reader who is no pinko writes in with a suggestion:
Wouldn't this be the perfect time for the two Presidential candidates prominently to issue a joint statement--or two identical statements--saying that the the nation is done kow-towing (good Chinese nonword) to the NRA's demands?
Shooters can vote for whomever they wish, they could say, but neither Obama nor Romney any longer care. Whichever one of them gains the office will immediately begin to dismantle the NRA's paper fortress, and their administration will get serious about gun control. Seems to be a splendid opportunity to raise both campaigns to a new level and to, in one small way, decrease the divisiveness throughout the country.
The shooters can rage, and they will, but I think the country is really sick and tired of this crap.
It's pretty to think so. I hope to be astonished on this point.
Why can't we do this? In my view, America lost its greatness some time back and it would take greatness on our part to make this happen/allow this to happen. But we could start by tying the NRA -- as they should be tied -- to James Holmes and the shooting in Aurora. Not to mention Tucson, Columbine, and the whole damn list. I don't think we've lost our ability to put an entire corporate entity in the doghouse and leave it there. Because -- at least in this first days after another horrible incident -- we are united in being "really sick and tired of this crap."
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