There are some issues in America that cause us concern and consternation.
They make us take sides on the issue.
Usually, there is no middle ground. You are either for or against. Either yes or no.
We debate these problems and present compelling information to support our position. Sometimes our position on something is so strong that we can change the minds of other people.
There are a few issues that have us pushing each other in different directions.
For example, COVID-19 has been with us for a while now.
At the beginning, many of us did not pay much attention to it. We thought it was a temporary virus and would soon leave us.
We were wrong, all wrong.
COVID-19 has ravaged our communities, taking thousands of lives. Now because of it, more people have taken the vaccine and are wearing masks.
January 6, 2021, is a day that will live unceremoniously in our history books.
The carnage and upheaval that occurred at the U.S. Capitol was unprecedented.
It had never happened before, and we hope it will never happen again.
Those that stormed the Capitol believed that the 2020 election was stolen. They believed that the former president was still the president. They were wrong, all wrong.
Joe Biden was elected as the president of the United States of America.
Now more people believe it.
However, there is still a significant number of people who believe the big lie.
These same folks, including some elected officials, downplayed the January 6th insurrection.
The January 6th Committee Hearings were created to investigate exactly what happened and who was behind it.
I strongly believe that as each hearing plays out, we are finding out more and more of what happened and who was behind it.
Men and women in the former president’s cabinet and inner circle have testified about that fateful day.
All fingers are pointing to the former president as the instigator and motivating force behind January 6th.
The Committee will reconvene in the coming weeks with more witnesses who will testify and come clean about their involvement and how they were influenced by him.
The slow and methodical walk to justice and the truth has started.
As a result, more people will see the full and stain-filled picture of what took place on that day.
The pressing issue of guns continues to haunt us.
America has watched as men, women, boys, and girls, have been killed with automatic weapons.
Background checks and stricter gun laws have become widespread topics of conversation, yet with only limited results.
Why do we, the people, need assault weapons for our everyday use?
People in almost every state have been victimized by assault rifles.
According to reports some of the largest rifle manufacturers are Smith and Wesson, Springfield, Henry Rac Holding, and Diamondback firearms.
These companies control over 50% of the market.
In 2020, 2.8 million rifles, including assault rifles, were purchased by the public.
A Gallup Poll showed that in 2021, Americans said self-defense was the primary reason for gun ownership.
Reports also say that gun-makers made more than one billion dollars from selling AR-15 style guns in the past 10 years.
Some gun-producers market them to suggest it is masculine to own them.
Representative Carolyn Maloney, Democrat from New York said, “Those sales tactics are deeply disturbing, exploitative and reckless. In short, the gun industry is profiting off the blood of innocent Americans.”
Gun producers blame the shooters. Many of us blame the gun producers.
Put a moratorium on producing AR-15 rifles. It will have a profound effect on the senseless killings in this country.
To keep producing these weapons is wrong, all wrong.
I am reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when he said, “I have tried to be honest. To be honest is to confront the truth. However unpleasant and inconvenient the truth may be, I believe we must expose and face it if we are to achieve a better quality of American life.”