It is another very sad day for humanity as a whole. And more specifically if you are a resident of the Unhappy States of America. Apologies, I meant the United States of America. From the safety of my very small and relatively safe Mediterranean island of residence, I awoke this morning to terrible news. News that does not effect me on a personal level, but triggers an overwhelming feeling of sympathy and concern. Sympathy for the continual loss of innocent life, and concern for the future of humanity as a whole.

Overnight in Florida a young man by the name of Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida and opened fire. Using his AR-15 assault rifle he took the lives of 17 innocent people. People who woke up, went to school and never came home. I am writing this article not to give you an incident report of this tragedy. You can log onto any news network for that. What I would like to do is focus more on trying to ascertain the reasons as to why these school killings and other mass shootings happen so often in those Unhappy States of America. I would like to focus on three points of reasoning. Gun control, an unhappy society and systematic, political fear mongering.

Let’s start by discussing the gun control issues. I will not going to go into too much detail here as it is something I blogged about after the last mass shooting. (See link below article to give it a read). But let me at least say this. The gun control regulations in the Unhappy States of America is an absolute farce. Don’t get me wrong. Whilst I personally don’t see the need at all for guns in society, I am not suggesting they outlaw them completely. That would be unrealistic. However there are certainly things that can be done by the US government that will surely help to shorten the frequency in which these mass tragedies are taking place.

For example, as it currently stands if an American was to purchase a gun in a store, there would be a background check. There, gun buyers have to fill out a form from the ATF, or the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The store then calls the FBI, which runs a background check on the person through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, also known as NICS. The background check can just take minutes. In this system, less than 1% of applications are denied. Many checks remain incomplete, yet gun sales are pushed through.

On the other hand, gun buyers don’t have to go through a background check when they make a purchase at a gun show from a private seller. Most Americans live somewhere near a gun show. On average there are around 50 per weekend across the board in the United States. With no backgrounds checks at all I shouldn’t think it too difficult for anyone to get there hands on what ever weapons they want.

In my opinion, for things to get better this regulatory system HAS TO CHANGE. Background checks must be more stringent and a license should be required by all firearm owners. Further more there should be no exceptions to these rules. I also think that the sale of semi automatic or automatic weapons should be completely illegal. I can see absolutely no reason what so ever for anyone to need to own one of these weapons. Hunters don’t need them, and if you think you need one for protection, what did you do? Threaten Kim Jong Un’s life? Change, change, change. All they need is change.

Which leads me to my next point and the use of play of words in the title of this blog. Overall, in the United States today, the majority of society for one reason or another is seriously unhappy. Unhappy because the system is keeping them down. They struggle to make a living and feed their families. There is no healthcare system that helps those who most need it. And violent crime, whilst statistically on the decrease is still rather common place. Much more than should be the case in a civilised society.

Tax breaks only seem to be for wealthy business men or foreign investors. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class is slowly disappearing. It is a generally Unhappy States of America. I am sure a lot of Americans would try and disagree with me. After all what would I know from the other side of the world. Well I am not blind. I have eyes and I can see. Perhaps I am more objective than any of you can ever be.  For those who do take offence at my written word, please, let me ask of you one thing. Don’t allow your unwavering patriotism to shadow over the facts of what is going on in your society. And please don’t ever stop demanding more from your so called leaders, who apparantly have a responsibility for creating a thriving society for ALL.

Final point. Systematic, political fear mongering. Believe it people, they want you to be afraid. Your fear gives them control. Your fear provides Carte Blanche for them to take your money, politically wash it through a governmental budgeting system, and feed it into their extremely deep pockets. Don’t be naive people, this is what they do. At every turn they are pushing for the next conflict, they want you to think the next attack is just around the corner. Because war, or at least the threat of war, makes money, and feeds their control. Fear, for them is just a marketing tool for them to continue on their journey unopposed and unobstructed. And guess what it’s working.

For me, these three very relevant societal dilemmas have come full circle to provide the perfect breeding platform for the kind of madness witnessed in Florida yesterday. And all too many times in the recent past. People are unhappy, isolated, scared. Life is getting harder and great mental stress has become common place. Until the people of America find some kind of respite or hope, I am afraid change will be highly improbable.

As a very final point I would like to clarify this. There are far worse places to live in the world than the USA. Take most of Africa, large segments of Asia, North Korea. Parts of Eastern Europe. There are many places that suffer from many forms of real world problems. But, America is supposed to be a beacon of hope for the world. It is supposed to be the poster child for a better life and the opportunity to live the dream. At least that is how I once saw it. Unfortunately, I find great disappointment and sorrow seeing this once great nation slowly spiralling down the shitter.

To read my previous rant on gun control please click on the following link.