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Thoughts related to Ms. Reitman’s newsletter,
“One Nation Under Guns.”
Jennifer Reitman is founder and publisher of Dame Maggzine, San Francisco. Here is a link to her text. One Nation, Under Guns (mailchi.mp)
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Dear Ms. Reitman:
Millions share your feelings and your sadness. The dark side of America is here to haunt us. But the dark side of America is nothing new. It has always existed. In the early days, slaves and native Indians experienced what it means to be sacrificed on the altar of white supremacy. This is a terrible disease that evolves as America evolves. Violence and hatred are its trademark.
In the past, white supremacy prevailed among whites. Today not all whites are equal. There are whites that are good and ethically-correct Christians, and whites that are bad and ethically-incorrect Christians. Racism has evolved. It has become color-blind. You have black people who think like their former masters, and white people who hate white people. In other words, even racism has become confusing in our days.
If you want to live in a “decent” country, you might have to migrate to another land. Today the American dream has become a nightmare for many “decent” people, namely white folks who have lived in America for generations and believed in the American dream.
Frankly, I welcome the fact that you have become disillusioned. This is necessary if you want to acquire some human maturity and recognize that wherever there are people, there is violence. The Romans recognized this fact when they declared, “Homo hominis lupus.” (Man is a wolf to his fellow men).
If we cannot eliminate hatred and violence, we should learn to live with this dimension of the human condition, and seek ways of protecting ourselves from violence, especially the violence of our political system. As long as the violence of our political system was in our favor, we welcomed it, or so did our predecessors. Now we must fight it and reform the system. Please allow me to share with you some ideas about how we can reform the system, in spite of the fact that our two-party system has become the cause of our gridlocks and decadence.
Sanctuary Cities
I propose to create sanctuary cities that enjoy a great deal of autonomy from federal and state law. If we cannot have a civilized country, let’s have at least some civilized cities and towns. European Renaissance was marked by the rise of city-states…