an introduction to the blogosphere

     I have always wanted to put my thoughts in writing. The closest I've ever had to a burning ambition was to be a journalist. Until my dad shot that dream down. "No money in that goddamn thing", he said. I was about ten years old at the time. I'm 46 now, and my father is long gone. So here I am, Internet beware.

     So what do I write about now ? Politics ? Religion ? Sports ? Beauty contests ? Can't think of one particular topic that I care enough to dwell on, at the present moment. Even though there's plenty of stuff out there. New Orleans and the fifth year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina ? Glenn Beck's religion-as-politics rally in Washington, D.C. (on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King's " I have a dream" civil rights speech) ? The hostage taking tragedy in the Philippines ? The trapped miners in Chile ? Hmmmmm.....

     What about a recent debate I had (like, just this afternoon) with my own brother-in-law ? About gun-control regulations ? What about that ?

     You see, what I don't understand about the opposition to registration by gun enthusiasts is their reason. Almost uniformly,  they would state that registration is part of a government conspiracy to take away their right to own these deadly weapons. My brother-in-law's reason was that if he, for whatever reason, fail to renew his gun license, the Toronto SWAT team would come bearing down on his front door.

     First of all, who could blame a police officer for approaching someone's property with extreme and utmost prejudice, if he or she knows there's a potential for deadly confrontation ? Secondly, if someone fails to renew something as important a gun license, who's fault is it ? The government ? Who's responsibility is it ? Isn't it primarily the holder of the said license ? So where does the conspiracy theory come into play ? Where is the deep, dark government agenda that aims to subvert people's freedoms ? If you fail to re-register, do you automatically lose the right to have a gun license ? I think not. I think my brother-in-law is just plain cuckoo.

     I do think though that there's a hidden motive among anti-control advocates with regards to gun regulations. And it's the same reason why they feel the need to own these types of weapons in the first place. Empowerment based on fear. Of what, I have no idea. Maybe, it's their own political or social prejudices. Or their own personal insecurities. Who knows ? I'm just a guy typing his first blog entry.

     But I do know that there's a great need for gun regulations. In the interest of public safety. For our own police officers' safety. For our own and our children's safety. Afterall, to be a part of decent society, we must sometimes look past our own interest and look after the greater need. It is not I but WE in a community, a city, a country. And the more the proper authorities can keep track of these deadly weapons, the less potential there is for conflict involving guns. And the lesser the conflict, the better WE evolve as a society. And the better WE feel about each other, the safer WE feel. And in great numbers, WE have nothing to fear.