Social Contract

Yes, I know it's been a long time. I've had several "false starts" on getting back to it, and have set a few days that seemed auspicious for resuming. Obviously all of them have passed. Today I have decided to ease back in, and this will be brief -- if I can limit myself. I'm angry and sad -- and I need to stop looking at Facebook!

I'm not sure why (many) people seem to think that their right to own any kind of weapon supercedes the right of others simply to live, but I've been seeing and hearing it all over the place. I would like to offer a few thoughts on the matter of the most recent school shooting, not just because I have an awareness of how a similar event could affect me -- and I am aware of that -- but because no right is more important than the right, especially of a young person, to live.

 1. In Florida, and probably in other states with warm climates, our school hallways are mostly outdoors. In addition, our new buildings seem to be more concerned with aesthetics than with safety. I have nothing against pretty buildings, but when I am in a classroom with floor-to-ceiling windows (as I have often been), I might pay more attention to potential threats outside my room than to the lesson I'm teaching. Fortunately, I have taught certains courses so many times over the years that I can go on auto-pilot and my students probably won't notice.

 2. More guns on campus will not help! Florida's gun laws are notoriously lax, and I have no doubt that some of my students (legally) carry concealed weapons. Some may do so illegally. Honestly, as long as they keep them put away, I don't care. But what would happen if a shooter entered our classroom? Could I trust that any student -- or faculty/staff member -- would be careful and accurate? No. I don't believe that would be the case. I think it would just contribute to the pandemonium and thus raise the casualty rate.

 3. This is the one the title alludes to. I don't want to sound condescending, so pardon me if I'm telling you something you already know. Jefferson based much of the Constitution on the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the latter's idea of a social contract. This is evident in nearly every aspect of civilized society, so much so that we rarely think about it. A good example is that most people obey traffic laws (apart from driving faster than the speed limit on occasion -- I assume). They stop at red lights and pass other vehicles on the left, etc. Even the most hardened criminal is likely to follow the rules of the road, if for no other reason than not to draw attention to himself. People don't smoke in no-smoking zones; they take off their shoes and stand in line to board airplanes (even if they grumble about it the whole way through). Whether you agree with my observations on these examples or not, I think you would concede the point that we give up -- or at least limit -- certain individual freedoms for the greater good of society. Why is this so hard to extend to gun laws? No one needs an automatic or semi-automatic weapon, but just the mention of taking away that choice gets their collective panties in a bunch. Can't we, as a society, come to the simple agreement that getting rid of these weapons is in the best interest of all of our citizens, at least until we figure out something else?

 4. One last thought: I have never in my life seen a group of young people as composed and eloquent as those who have stepped up after Wednesday's shooting. In the past, students have let adults handle things for them, and I guess that hasn't worked out so well. Now they are not waiting. I am angry and sad that they have had the occasion to step up, but I am in awe of their courage and grace -- and hopeful that they may succeed where we have failed.