Whether driven to hang on to power, have access to money, or intoxicated by fame, when politicians do things that hurt people for personal gain, it is greed of the most grievous kind.
Greed has many faces and is manifested in many ways. It fosters and protects selfish interests, no matter what principles and laws are bent or broken.
A pattern of reckless greed is in the halls of Congress and in state capitols across America.
What else explains the utter and unmistakable harm, even death, which continues to occur in two areas so critical to the health and safety of the American public:
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Getting the coronavirus under control; and
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Stopping preventable carnage and deaths by guns
How many more people need to suffer and die because of misguided legislative measures or the absence of passing meaningful legislation?
When did politicians gain the required knowledge to overrule what scientific and medical communities have determined to be the best measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus?
Other than selfish political interests, what could motivate politicians to work against people wearing masks, getting vaccinated and practicing social distancing—even in the face of increasing rates of infection and death?
What audacity! What hubris! What dereliction of duty!
Furthermore, politicians are spending taxpayers’ money going to court to promote measures that will harm taxpayers’ health and wellbeing rather than protect it. It is happening in Missouri and in other states across the nation.
These same politicians see hospitals and healthcare workers unable to adequately care for unvaccinated COVID-19 infected patients crowding emergency rooms and hallways. They see and hear families recounting the pain of losing loved ones.
What is the end game for politicians who persist in fighting data-driven science and good public health measures? Simply to get re-elected, to save their political careers.
The people need to demand politicians fighting what is in the best interest of public health stay in their lane. Do you see scientists and medical professionals challenging or trying to undo state laws and the Constitution?
Then there is what seems to be the never-ending nightmare of random gun violence, where innocent, unsuspecting victims are wounded or killed just going about their daily lives.
One would have thought the all-too-frequent school shootings, where children are massacred by another child who gained access to a semi-automatic gun, would be a call to action. Whether the shooter has underlying mental health issues or succumbs to a moment of rage, the paramount question is: How did he/she get access to a gun?
After the Sandy Hook, Massachusetts school shooting nearly 10 years ago, many thought the killing of 20 6-year-olds would finally get politicians to pass meaningful gun control measures. More than a decade earlier, the Columbine, Colorado carnage had failed to do so.
Since those horrendous incidents, school shootings are more frequent, according to a Security.org study.
The most recent was at a high school in Michigan. It exposed loopholes in responsible gun ownership and the presence of mental illness. It is a toxic and deadly mix.
Random gun violence is also perpetrated on shoppers in malls, grocery stores, and worshippers in churches, synagogues, and mosques.
Yet, some politicians persist in using the Second Amendment to muddle the issue. They embrace and perpetuate campaigns to misinform and fuel public fears.
What is wrong with passing legislation regulating and enforcing responsible gun ownership and usage nationwide? Other civilized and industrial nations have, and they do not have the same gun violence carnage as we do in America.
There are more guns in circulation, legally and illegally, than there are people in the United States, according to a Gallup survey.
