Open Forum: Inner cities awash in blood

With President Obama’s triumphant inauguration now history, a clear pattern has emerged in his behavior. His single-minded strategy of division has kicked into high gear.

Relentless propaganda of hatred towards all who do not worship at his altar, combined with dictatorial edicts, is a combination guaranteed to stifle our economy and do long-term harm to our culture. I have never seen a standing president so unwilling to negotiate, but also such an incendiary presence. Obama’s scorched-earth strategy of destroying all opposition, even at the risk of destroying an already fragile economy, is without precedent in modern times. He speaks loftily of equality while he demonizes an increasingly long list of productive Americans who simply choose to disagree with him.

Obama’s minions have taken the tragedy in Sandy Hook to unparalleled levels of hypocrisy and hysteria, and used the tragedy to target their enemies. Just a few days ago, I heard the most absurd and perverted use of logic in my adult life. An anti-Second Amendment professor actually said, “Guns need to be taken from NRA members because they will eventually use those guns to commit crimes. Let us not forgot that all criminals were law-abiding citizens before they became criminals.”

This is a scholar who’s sat through one too many of those philosophy mind-benders and now suffers from a permanently bent mind. Yet his outrageous nonsense made it before a camera because we have a president who was elected on just this type of hyperbole.

So instead of pushing to disarm responsible gun owners by espousing utter and completely insane drivel, how about taking a peek at some accepted statistics on gun violence? Stats put together by extremes like Sarah Brady on one side and the NRA on the other?

Roughly 9,000 people were murdered by firearms last year. Another 38,000 took their own lives, most of them with guns. Discount the suicides and take a closer look at where the gun violence takes place. Democrat-run Chicago, a city with the strictest gun laws in the country, is awash in murder. Detroit, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Washington all have appalling murder rates with firearms.

It’s a hard-and-fast fact that the overwhelming majority of gun deaths in this country are committed in cities where the population voted in huge majorities for Obama. Yes, one could safely change the old slogan and say, “Guns don’t kill people; Democrats do.” You would be factually correct. Your slogan would be based on statistics provided not just by your government, but by both sides of the gun-control issue.

Using the inane, non-argument that “anyone can use stats to make their point” does not in itself dismiss the fact that political leaders will never address the statistics of gun violence in an honest manner. When our inner cities are killing fields, why not direct our legislative efforts there? Instead, when NRA Director Wayne LaPierre suggested that Hollywood do its part and tone down the glorification of gratuitous violence, and the video gaming industry do the same, the left responded by releasing a game where the user shoots Mr. LaPierre and gets extra points for shooting him in the head.

What a wonderful message from the left: “Give up your guns or we’ll shoot you in the head.” It’s classic Obama. In our president’s world, there can be no dialogue, only his imperial whims. All dialogue must be eradicated, and even the most outrageous “what if” scenarios will be given air time if they even remotely support his positions. “It’s George Bush’s fault” may work for another decade, but it will also be the battle cry used to stifle intelligent conversation.

Republicans, rich people, the middle class, small business owners, insurance brokers, gun owners, and the rest of the people on Obama’s hit list have more than earned the right to have representation in this country. We don’t need an arrogant, smirking, out-of-touch president demeaning an increasingly larger segment of our population. Is it such a shock that a Harvard-educated lawyer is more concerned with his image than bringing people together to solve our nation’s pressing issues?

Obama’s handlers need to change his script. Let him pretend to represent all Americans for a little while; it may start to take hold.

B.J. Evans resides in Winchester.