And let\u2019s be clear: This week\u2019s prominent \u201cprayer shamers\u201d aren\u2019t really against prayer. They\u2019re against platitudes. The problem is when \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d are the only response to a public event that calls for political action. It\u2019s hard to imagine that even the most dedicated atheist objects to Ted Cruz kneeling by his bed at night to pray for the victims of yesterday\u2019s shooting. What Cruz chooses to do in his bedroom is his own business. The issue is that politicians like him continue to offer thoughts and prayers and nothing else: no assault weapons ban, no universal background checks, no federal gun registry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now, I think the knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Left that the only rightthinking response to this attack is to implement more gun control legislation, without any regard for the details of the situation, is unwarranted, to put it mildly. \u00a0Closing the \u201cgun show loophole\u201d? Would have had no effect. \u00a0The attackers had no criminal history anyway, and no mental health issues. \u00a0There seem to have been \u201cstraw purchasers,\u201d if that term means anything in the context of an assault in which unknown others may have been co-conspirators. \u00a0Assault weapons? \u00a0California already has tighter laws than in place on the federal level, and the guns, as I understand it, conformed with those laws. \u00a0Anti-gun folk are becoming more daring about speaking not just in the poll-tested \u201ccommon sense gun safety legislation,\u201d but openly pointing to Australia and gun confiscation (because, apparently, we can\u2019t deport 12 million illegal immigrants but confiscating 300 million guns will be a cakewalk) or shutting down the manufacture of amunition \u2014 which may have an effect on other kinds of gun-related crime, but, let\u2019s face it, the Hebdo and Bataclan attackers didn\u2019t have any trouble getting their weapons despite France\u2019s gun laws.<\/p>\n
In reality, what we should be \u201cshaming\u201d is this rush by politicians and pundits, in the hours after the attack took place, to use the attack to further their gun agenda.<\/p>\n
(And, yes, to the extent that others jumped onto promoting an anti-immigration of anti-Islam agenda, that\u2019s just as bad.)<\/p>\n
What are the right \u201cpolitical action items\u201d in response to this attack? \u00a0We don\u2019t know. \u00a0Honestly, we don\u2019t. \u00a0I would be rather surprised if this were a Colombine-style \u201cwe just want to be killers\u201d attack that just happened to be perpetrated by a newly-devout Muslim man and his face-covering wife. \u00a0From all reports, they clearly planned on more killing, more death, and Ockham\u2019s Razor says this was terrorism. \u00a0True, he appeared at the party, then left and returned, but it seems more likely that he was there to check for any security measures first (perhaps the presence or absence of some individual in particular?), and then returned in a pre-planned manner, than that he spontaneously decided to abandon a larger plan due to a slight at the party. \u00a0Other reported actions, such as the destruction of cell phones and computers, also point strongly towards a terror cell with more individuals involved in the planning, if not in the execution. \u00a0And in what world does a couple leave their child an orphan to settle a \u201cworkplace grievance\u201d? \u00a0Incidentally, it also doesn\u2019t puzzle me that they attacked something as seemly-inconsequential as a Christmas party. \u00a0It makes a lot of sense, whether ISIS-directed or motivated, to kill in the \u201chinterland\u201d and take away the feeling of safety that \u201cI\u2019m not in DC or NY, so I\u2019m safe.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019ve read in various places that ISIS explicitly urges killing wherever you are.<\/p>\n
But even so: \u00a0if you have some concrete idea of \u201cnext steps,\u201d you\u2019re ahead of me. \u00a0So I don\u2019t really see any \u201caction items\u201d that can be meaningfully tweeted in the immediate aftermath of the attack.<\/p>\n
What about the \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d? \u00a0In one sense, of course it\u2019s silly for public figures to announce this. \u00a0Nothing to get bent out of shape about, or fly off the handle over, but what meaning is there to Obama or anyone else announcing these words? \u00a0Sure, yes, we should pray, but, as Lefties are now telling us, even Jesus said prayer should be private, not conspicuous, and not a means\u00a0of self-glorification.<\/p>\n
But at the same time, in real life, or on facebook, anyway, we say these words to each other all the time, to offer support and comfort to others. \u00a0Sure, if you\u2019ve got an atheist friend or two, they\u2019re more likely to receive expressions that \u201cwe\u2019ll think good thoughts for you,\u201d than \u201cwe\u2019re praying for you\u201d from their circle of friends, if they write about a health problem or family situation, but the sentiment is still there. \u00a0Among public figures,\u00a0speaking these very words has become an expectation: \u00a0it\u2019s a standardized way of presidents offering condolences and support. \u00a0Even among those who aren\u2019t really so prominent for their words to bring any comfort to anyone, it\u2019s a way of expressing, \u201cI feel bad about the situation,\u201d when the speaker is really powerless to say anything else, but wants to say something<\/em>, even if just to make themselves feel better by expressing a sentiment.<\/p>\nYes, it shouldn\u2019t have become so formulaic. \u00a0But \u2014 let\u2019s face it \u2014 as a culture, we thrive on the formulaic. \u00a0When birthday cards arrive from the in-laws in Germany, they have handwritten sentiments. \u00a0Here we shop the drugstore for the pre-written sentiment we like best.<\/p>\n
And what\u2019s the alternative? \u00a0Readers, what can you propose?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you read twitter, you\u2019ve likely seen the \u201cprayer shaming\u201d debate over the last couple days. \u00a0It goes like this: \u00a0public figures reflexively tweeted, posted on facebook, and (gasp!) verbally said that their \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d are with the victims of the San Bernardino attack. \u00a0Then some leftist said, paraphrased, your prayers are worth nothing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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