The Arming of Fishmen

We must not tell an American what to think or what to believe. If he believes he is the King of San Francisco, let him; if he thinks he is the only sane man living, let him; if he believes he is a fish, let him. Our regulating body should not crush ideas, no matter how radical, otherwise we become tyrants. If, however, that fishman takes up arms and uses them on non-fishmen, remove his arms, and be certain not to arm any more fish. This is the only place we have control. We cannot tell him he is not a fish, as that would require the most expensive psychologists; and, it is likely he will disagree, wasting the public fund.

How can you tell if a man thinks he is a fish? Difficult, if he is a quiet fish. How then do we prevent fish from getting arms? First, if there is a loophole allowing the arming of fish, say, a garage sale of third party sellers not able to spot fish, close it. Second, explicitly arm only those relatively certain to not be fish, perhaps a well-regulated group that is pledged to serve the public good?

But what about the non-fishmen who want arms in case of tyranny? Easy, require they join another well-regulated group of some kind, publicly sanctioned, with required meetings to express the importance and dangers of arms in society, run by responsible adults accountable for each other.

I doubt many fish would pass muster.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Terrorism

Let's see, climate change = less water in Syria = more unemployed farming communities = more disenfranchised = more terrorism recruitment. Sure. I'll take it as a contributing factor. It made me think, what else? What else makes a terrorist? Even our domestic ones? (We have a greater chance of being murdered by a disenfranchised American than a Syrian) First off, every one of them believes they're heroes. "Allahu akbar," "No more baby parts," parroting rhetoric and ideology of mentors/leadership, so lets ask what causes that leap into terror.

I would add to the cocktail: lack of education (or refusal due to next ingredient -->;); theocracy or fundamentalism; vilification and opposition from every major influence causing solidarity and heroism (when others are against you/your group/brothers in faith, you have nothing, you don't understand because of lack of education and poor leadership, what is nobler than becoming a hero?); lastly, an ideology (or lack thereof) that makes innocents just as morally safe to kill for your cause as soldiers (the hardest ingredient to grasp, but not so difficult to implement after mixing the above it seems). I'm sure there are more factors, like mental health, but humor the possibility that most terrorists are rational human beings.

Most people live on the path of least resistance. We create this path in society, so we have the responsibility to destroy it.

So How? What do we do? We shift. We try things; do something new. Make the right things important: Education (logic and reasoning being the most important yet overlooked at every stage of development due to failure implementing next ingredient -->); Separation of Church and State (also education on the reasons behind it. not understanding the difference between your religious community and a secular governing body creates problems like Kim Davis); Encouraging a tolerant society (oppressed minorities have to and will become heroes at some point so we must be tolerant and fair); And lastly, encouraging a population focused on the society as a whole.

What did I miss? Bill Nye on Terrorism Causes