American hunter, bring’ em up the north
side
Guns, guns, guns
Run, take the money, here’s a bullet for your boyfriend
Guns, guns, guns
Eagle all gone, and no more caribou
Guns, guns, guns
You be the red king, I'll be the yellow pawn ….
Run, take the money, here’s a bullet for your boyfriend
Guns, guns, guns
Eagle all gone, and no more caribou
Guns, guns, guns
You be the red king, I'll be the yellow pawn ….
When I think of the title above, for sixty years of life – the
first thirty-two in Canada – these lyrics from the Guess Who were first to come
to mind. That all changed with the shocking events of San Bernardino. My wife, Mary Morris, has done us all a
profound service by saying what must be said – and helped me to the realization that we need more than the poetic resistance of rock ’n’ roll to foster real
change. Her comment, that I’m repeating
in its entirety below, was posted on Facebook on Dec. 3. Since then, it has
been “liked” by more than 400 people, drawn 51 comments, and sparked 39 shares.
I couldn’t be prouder of Mary for speaking out in such an incredibly moving and
powerful way.
“I need to say
this. We are insane. You cannot go out and get married or drive a car in this
country without a license, some delays, a learner's permit. Why can anyone walk
into a store and walk out with an AK47? How can there not be background checks?
You cannot marry ten women or have more than a certain number of DUI. It is
against the law not to wear a seatbelt. Yet anyone can amass literally a
stockpile of weapons intended only to kill and there's no database that red flags this and no law that impedes it. We look at the
horrors all around the world and fail to fully realize that these same horrors
are happening right here and that there are things that we can do to curtail
them. Forgive this rant, but I find it unbearable. I am committing myself to doing
something about this. Whether it is voting or donating or supporting the
Everytown movement in any way I can. Because I can no longer be proud of being
who I am in a country that does not stop people who are clearly mentally ill
from destroying innocent people who happen to be at the wrong place at the
wrong time.”
Next: Running for
Your Life: On the Road Again
