The Great American Craziness

[marmar]

from Truthdig:




The Great American Craziness
Posted on Jan 11, 2011

By Richard Reeves

I do not believe that Sarah Palin and her blather about "reloading" or Sharron Angle, she of "Second Amendment solutions," have anything to do with the gunning down of innocents in Arizona. You can’t blame a third of a huge nation, who love simplistic hyperbole, for the actions of one crazy person in Tucson.

What bothers me is people, sane and insane, with guns, better ones, another manifestation of technological revolution. What bothers me is the cowardice of national leaders and other politicians who allow people to carry around those weapons on the streets, in restaurants and bars. That’s the great American craziness.

My father was a criminal court judge in Hudson County, N.J., a pretty tough venue in the best of times. He was a Republican, a pretty conservative one, and a hunter with two shotguns locked in a case. I learned a lot, I think, sitting in his courtroom as a boy and listening to him talk at home.

First, I know about death threats. They were a regular feature of our lives. Most particularly I remember "The Voice of Doom," a telephone voice saying that he was not only going to kill my father, but my mother, brother and me as well. My father’s reaction to some of those calls was to offer to meet these people in a public place, a bar on Journal Square near the Hudson and Manhattan tube station. They either did not show up or they poured out their tale of woe before thanking my father for seeing them. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_great_american_craziness_20110111/?ln

[xchrom]

1. an interesting read. nt