Matters of Life and Death

The Politics of Death

Americans have been programmed to see death at every turn. It happens regardless of age, gender and class. We are warned about death by advertisements, physicians, religious figures, parents, teachers, friends, neighbors and politicians. Not a day goes by where death is not introduced or re-introduced into the public psyche. Death is a constant aspect of America’s consciousness.

Politicians, however, work the concepts of death better than most. We are often told through their speeches and advertisements that many of us will die if particular programs and laws are not enacted. That death will be caused by a lack of poverty programs, social security, medical insurance, quality education, quality medical care, tax reform, and weapon control. In turn, we are encouraged to support politicians who will spare us from this inevitable death by supporting legislation that will create fundamental changes in the American system.

In America, death is politicized. Americans are so acquainted with the idea of death that they do not pay attention to conversations on death.  However, they are very afraid of the loss of life.

Of all of the developed nations, it is only in the United States where a person fears death by walking down the street, riding on public transportation, going to a movie theater, shopping or even going to school. Young people harbor the same fears as adults, and adults fear for themselves and their children with equal intensity.

But to our dismay, many of the same politicians that promote death, have little to say when someone actually commits a heinous crime, particularly a shooting which leads to death or deaths.

This culture of denial and civic apathy has to change! The politics of death must be transformed into the politics of life!

One cannot ignore the data.  Living in the United States is not safe.  Recently, it was determined that of the developed nations, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy rate for children. Adults don’t fare much better either.

The United States has had a homicide rate between 4 and 5 deaths per 100,000 people since 2011. That correlates to well over 14,000 homicides per year. However, while this figure is much less than it was a decade earlier, the significant numbers of fatalities are not acceptable.

Over 2/3rds of the nation’s current homicide rates are connected to firearms (Center for Disease Control, 2013, 2014, & 2017, FBI 2016, and Statistica.com). In 2016, there were 17,250 homicides which was an 8.6% rise from 2015.  A year later, in 2017, the nation counted fewer homicides, 15,872, but 11,008 were attributed to guns.

America’s gun homicide rate is more than 25 times the average of other high-income countries (World Bank, and Center for Disease Control). Between 2011 and 2015, there were 169,395 firearm deaths and over 400,000 firearm injuries in the United States. On an average day, 96 Americans are killed and 222 are injured by guns.  That translates to almost 13,000 gun homicides each year. 

Homicides statistics vary. For example, Atlanta, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Baltimore, and Chicago have the highest urban homicide rates and California, Texas, and Illinois are the states with the most murders. In contrast, there are twenty-two states with 100 or less murders in 2016 and 2017. But this is not an urban problem or a state problem. This is a people problem. At any time and any place, gun violence can erupt with deadly consequences.

The identities of the shooters and their victims cover all spectrums of our society. While women and African American males are more often statistical victims of gun violence, the nation’s children are in a precarious position. According to EverytownResearch.org, seven children and teens are killed with guns on an average day. The New York Times reports there have been over 200 school shootings between January 2014 and February 2018.  As a result, 438 people have been shot and 138 have died. 

It is clear that America has a gun culture. And that for a variety of reasons, Americans are more likely to use guns to resolve situations.  While we tend to blame the shooter and not the politicians and gun manufacturers and sales people, our solutions of keeping the public safe have failed. Our conversations on death must change. No child should have to fear the consequences of going to the park, a movie or a school and not returning.

It is the mission of the people and the nation to protect its citizens, but more importantly to save its future. Our children are that future. After the recent events in Parkland, Florida, gun control should no longer be debated. We should be focusing on ways to stem gun violence and offer some measures to attempt to keep serious weapons out of the hands of those are most likely to commit those types of crime.

The entire village must be involved. It should not be the sole responsibility of politicians to design and legislate the solutions. This is an issue that will require the participation of civic leaders, manufacturers, law enforcement, and the community to reach mutually satisfactory compromises. No one organization should determine the legitimacy of owning firearms, and it should not be politicized.

It is my greatest hope that tragedies, like those that have occurred in Florida, California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Connecticut become a part of the distant past. America has seen enough dying.

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