Dan Treanor: Sings the blues — and also speaks words of wisdom…
Bluesman Dan Treanor on Facebook, 06/16/16: In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy that occurred in Orlando I was asked by somebody in a post on my page if it was more than pure hate that triggered the murder of 49 innocent victims. The question was..”does a religious ideology ( …not just one religion either…), that promotes hate, bear a degree of responsibility for the event that occurred. I answered then, and I still feel the same way, that I wasn’t wise enough to answer that question.
Here is what I think. The core of the problem is not gun control, religious ideology, or many of the other topics that have sprouted up on FB and social media over the last several days. I think anecdotal tales of mass murder are becoming meaningless to most Americans. We absorb tales of violence like a sponge. Mythological violence is becoming second nature to us. We are losing the capacity to be tolerant and compassionate. I think most Americans, at their core, are good and kind people. That goodness and kindness is being ground out of our psyche by the incessant ranting from left and right, shout down the opposition, insult those that don’t agree with you, belittle those that are different and on and on. The real enemy is the one that wants to disable our spirit and deprive us of the power to love.
I’ve been in brutal gunfights (VN – 69/70, 11 Bravo, if you were there you know what that means), the only thing I took away from that is this, that war lasts long after the last bullet is fired. The survivors, families, friends and first responders of Orlando, San Bernardino, Sandy Hook, Aurora and on and on will learn this lesson all too well.
You want to fight back? – don’t let this violence, (and it will happen again), disable your spirit and deprive you of the power to love.
PEACE