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发表于 2011-1-12 18:03:54
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VOX POPULI: Shooting reveals an open wound in U.S. society
2011/01/12
Last fall, in this column, I quoted Abraham Lincoln's aphorism: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
It was part of a speech in which the 16th president of the United States called on Americans to change their nation, not by force but by popular will.
Democracy has repeatedly suffered setbacks in the face of violence.
Lincoln, who was considered a symbol of democracy, was struck down by a bullet after the Civil War.
American politics has been a fight against the bullet.
The United States is now grief-stricken by a tragedy that occurred soon after the turn of the year. A shooting incident occurred at a political rally in Arizona over the weekend.
Six people died, and more than a dozen were wounded, including Gabrielle Giffords, 40, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The congresswoman was shot in the head and remains in critical condition.
The suspect is a 22-year-old man, but the background to the shooting is unclear.
An indignant President Barack Obama said: "This is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country."
Apparently, Obama's words were based on the view that the target of the attack was democracy.
At the same time, the incident shows the dark underside of American society, where as many as 300 million guns are said to be in private ownership.
There is a concept in America that the gun is a device that brings about equality.
This is because of the belief that, even when the attacker is a giant of a man, a target can become equal if armed with a gun.
This is one of the arguments in support of the individual citizen's right to own a gun.
But this seems to have something in common with the logic of the 9/11 terrorism attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York. It is a way of thinking that seems contiguous with the hideous idea that a single bullet can be "equal" to the power of speech.
"Guns do not kill people. People kill people," is a line frequently used by proponents of gun ownership.
However, guns tempt their owners. They say, "Use me."
While mourning for the victims, I think once again about American society's ills. |
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