Politicizing Tragedy?

I haven't written here in a very long time but today's tragedy in Connecticut spurred me to action. There's a piece of me that wants to get into a huge, verbal sparring match with the Facebook crowd who keep up with the nonsensical refrain "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Which is ridiculous, of course. Put a baseball bat into the hands of any of the perpetrators of these recent massacres and let's see where we land with a casualty count. I guaran-damn-tee it won't be as high. And then there are those who always chime in with "Let's not bring politics into this situation. Now is not the time to talk gun control." To those who champion this tired refrain, I point you to Ezra Klein:

Let’s be clear: That is a form of politicization. When political actors construct a political argument that threatens political consequences if other political actors pursue a certain political outcome, that is, almost by definition, a politicization of the issue. It’s just a form of politicization favoring those who prefer the status quo to stricter gun control laws.

Don't tell me we can't talk about some form of gun control when this kind of thing keeps happening again and again and again. Now is exactly the right time to politicize the issue. Why? Because when an issue is politicized it means we actually talk about it as a public! Politicizing something means we actually view it as in issue of public consequence. If the issue of determining when a person's right to bear arms slams up against my right to public safety isn't an issue of public consequence, particularly in light of the continued violence, I don't know what is. I realize guns aren't the root cause of the problem, that they're a symptom of a broader cultural issue with violence, but any good doctor will tell you that it's probably necessary to treat both a symptom and a cause. That means we'll need to limit access to certain weapons while we take decades to sort out our propensity for violence.

To end on what I hope is a depoliticized note. I'm thinking healing thoughts for all those impacted by today's violence: relatives, friends, and everyone watching the tragedy unfold. I wish you all deep peace.

Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.