New Normal

I recently re-posted a couple of cartoons that I had inked following the Sandy Hook mass shooting. It was the quickest response I could muster, because I was just too upset and furious to sit down, reflect and put brush to paper. Oh what a difference a day makes. Now, I'm fired up and ready to go.

Donald Trump and his enabling minions in the Republican (and all too often, Democratic) Party have no soul. Or to be more precise, they are all self-centered and self-seeking with not a single whit of interest in promoting the common good, never mind protecting our children, our society's most vulnerable. Instead, they are much more focused on gobbling up as much money as they can from the NRA and the arms industry.

Protect the Second Amendment? What-EVER. As long as the campaign contributions keep rolling in, they're not going to lose any sleep if a few more dozen children are slaughtered. It's a small price to pay to be able to hold onto power and use it to further their immoral, twisted vision of a militarized, re-segregated white supremacist America.

And let's please dispense with all of these bogus self-righteous offers of thoughts and prayers. They don't mean jack. The only thing these heartless criminals are thinking and praying about is that we'll all just go back to our couches, stream our favorite videos and forget all about the 17 children who lost their lives in Parkland, Florida.

And while we're at it, let's tell all of those anti-intellectual, anti-reality blowhards to stick all of their cockamamie theories of why children are routinely massacred in the United States. Social science research is clear: 8 million AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifles and 300 million total guns in this country are the only reason why the United States has more gun deaths than any other comparable country by multiple factors of 10. If you hear a politician or pundit looking to convince anyone to the contrary, just put a cork in it and accept responsibility for being a big fat liar spreading more self-serving lies.

Enough politician bashing. What about us? What are we willing to do? When are we willing to say "enough is enough"? Sure, those in power have the power to resist our demands, but let us not forget Fredrick Douglas' timeless reminder: "Power never cedes anything without a demand. Never has. Never will."

It's time to start demanding an end to unregulated, unrestrained supply and commerce in deadly weapons. Get out there and write to your local, state and national representatives. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Protest in front of gun shops in your community. Work with allies in the faith and law enforcement communities to give you some moral and street creds, respectively. Don't stop even when you're turned back. Keep at it. It's hard work, and it's the only thing that is going to produce an end to this insanity.