Confederate Sharpshooter

The local Newspaper reports today that traffic deaths are down somewhat, and the obligatory 'expert' attributes this decline to high gasoline prices and people driving less. I'd like to point out that the article speaks only in the most general terms, giving little specific information on numbers, or even percentages. No specific traffic 'accident' is ever mentioned, nor are specific 'victims.'

For the hoplophobic folks out there, I'd like for you to take a minute and compare such coverage to your average 'gun death' story. For starters, you will observe that you pretty much hear about every single person who is affected by a criminal with a gun in the story. You will also hear about shootings, or attempted shootings, or people who may have been thinking about shooting, all over the entire country, and lately in Mexico as well. Relatives will be tearfully interviewed, questions will be asked about 'how could this have happened' and 'why doesn't somebody (the government, of course) do something?'

Now, check out the nearest story about a traffic death. Quite a difference, wouldn't you say? As a former (and still part time) professional driver, let me say first I hate seeing the word 'accident' used as frequently as it appears in traffic death stories. An accident, by definition, is something that could not be prevented. Outside of a bit of the space station crashing onto the interstate or an earthquake, most traffic situations are quite avoidable if you drive with care. The tens of thousands of bodies mangled and killed on the highways each year are almost always the result of someone driving like an idiot. Often, said idiot has a long and storied history of violations and accidents, more than a few are driving with a revoked- or never held- license.

Let's try this sometime: the next time we have an 'assault vehicle death' let's ask the Newspaper why they didn't interview every relative who just lost a loved one, or why that particular car isn't banned for being a threat to public safety. Ask why such a car owner was allowed to go to any dealership without a government background check and allowed to purchase any high capacity SUV without any waiting period, training, or being fingerprinted. Yeah, I'm serious. Be sure and point out that if you added up every single person killed by an 'assault weapon' by a civilian in the history of the United States, you'd still not equal even a single year's motor vehicle deaths.

One of the biggest enemies to freedom in the current political climate is the socialist media. A close second is the public indoctrination school system. The two are closely related. Fortunately, both of these groups are populated mostly by cowards. They will back down if confronted by a large dose of public opinion. That's where the common folk have failed. You need to speak up, loudly, confidently, and often. Write a letter to the local paper, television news, or radio station. Very few people bother to do this, and that makes even a single letter stand out. Be polite, confident, have your facts carefully checked. Do this, and I promise you will walk a little taller, and feel a little prouder when you do.