We Are All Packing

Gun control is a huge issue. If I had my way, we wouldn’t be able to buy a BB gun without a wait time and a background check, never mind buying a Mossberg 930 shotgun that shoots 23 rounds in 3.73 seconds.  I realize that there are responsible people who own guns. I just want purchasing a gun to be at least as difficult as getting a driver’s license. We need to keep the gun control conversation going no matter how much heat it creates. Lives are at stake here.

Meanwhile, whether we own a gun or not, unknown to us, we are all packing. Every one of us carries childhood wounds inside us just waiting to grab onto present day situations. We are packing the sly internal derringer of sarcasm all the way to the AK 47 of rage. Our arsenal is fully at the ready should someone push our buttons, hurt our feelings, say or do the wrong thing--drive us crazy.  There’s a reason for the expression “shooting your mouth off.” We tend to fire back, hard and fast.

There’s a lot to be said for the counting-to-ten-slowly routine. We might be able to remain holstered if we did that. We might be able to disarm the situation instead of exacerbating it.

 So, as we argue for the control of guns in our country, let’s put away our own “guns” and think, instead, about being the peace we want to see in the world.