Navy Yard Shooting

It is very sad how every couple of months I get on twitter throughout the day and see news of another mass killing in the United States. And the one thing that makes these shootings worse is that most of them could have been prevented. The Navy Yard shooting proves that their are flaws in our nations  security systems, our health care system for the mentally ill, and also poor controls on previous offenders of the law. If you put a gun in the hands of a mentally unstable person, their is a high chance they will use it. Aaron Alexis had a history of infractions as a Navy reservist, mental health problems and a history of gun violence, yet somehow he gained clearance at the security gait at the Navy Yard. Its kind of crazy that a guy who had a history of misbehavior while on active duty can still be called up for active duty. It is also astonishing that a major defense contractor did not have a problem hiring a person with a bad military past and an arrest record for two time gun use. The shooter should have been a convicted felon for his previous violations of the law, who then would not have been able to own a gun, and also would not have been given clearance to go on the naval base. Greater enforcement of current laws could have easily prevented this massacre. Aaron went to the Veterans hospital twice last month for insomnia and was never committed. He also had PTSD. Since he was never committed he was then able to buy the gun he used in the shooting. Simple health care and security actions could have prevented this horrible shooting.

Syria

The past two years have been very tough for Syria. The civil war has caused a huge economic downfall. According to New York Times, in the past two years unemployment has multiplied five times its prewar value, and the economy as a whole has shrunk 35%. This downfall began in 2011-2012 when Syrian security forces used tanks, gunfire, and mass arrests to stop anti-government protests exhilarated by the revolutionary wave that started in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lybia. These small protests have now evolved into a huge civil war. 

The US has now been brought into this because of Syria's use of chemical weapons on their citizens, which violates international law, and also its constant support for democratization. The question is whether the United states chooses to intervene with force to remove the Assad regime from power, which would bring justice to the chemical warfare aspect of the problem, and also could create a new democracy. Having a democracy in Syria is not the only way this problem can be solved, but because of the United States selfishness we believe that the only way to run a country would be with a democracy. John Mills states that democracy has not worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, but instead has caused more trouble for the countries. This does not stop our belief in democratization because it is the self interest of the US to do this.

 My last post was about Adam Smith's Of Sympathy, and I think that the United States involvement in Syria relates directly to this selection. "Of this kind is pity or compassion, the emotion which we feel for the misery of others, when we either see it, or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner"(Smith). The United States has acknowledged the misery the citizens of Syria have gone through. Chemical warfare has killed 1,429 people. Obama feels for these people and wants to avenge their deaths with international justice. I think the United states stance in helping the Syrian people is also one of self interest.

I think that the United states stance on democratizing Syria is one of self interest that displays the selfishness of the country. On the other hand I think the United States stance on intervening in Syria to help the poor citizens is one of self interest but with out selfishness.

Relating to Adam Smith

Paragraph 11 of Adam Smith's Of Sympathy was interesting because it relates to how the wealthy view the poor in today's society and also how the poor perceive their own misery. "But the poor wretch, who is in it, laughs and sings perhaps, and is altogether insensible of his own misery. The anguish which humanity feels, therefore, at the sight of such an object, cannot be the reflection of any sentiment of the sufferer. The compassion of the spectator must arise altogether from the consideration of what he himself would feel if he was reduced to the same unhappy situation, and, what perhaps is impossible, was at the same time able to regard it with his present reason and judgment"(Smith, para. 11).  The first sentence of the quote explains how a poor person doesn't recognize how miserable he/she really is. When the wealthy look at the less fortunate they feel sorry for them even though the poor might still feel happiness. Most people try to put themselves in the poor persons shoes, but one can never truly grasp what they are feeling. The wealthy ascribe feelings to the poor as if they lessen themselves to their class, so they automatically see them as miserable even though they might be very happy in spite of their current stuff.
In my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee I volunteered for a non profit community development organization called Harvest hands. "Harvest Hands is a catalyst for Christ-centered, wholistic community development working alongside our neighbors to further healthy living, education, spiritual formation and economic development in South Nashville"(Harvest). The south Nashville community was economically very poor, but emotionally they were filled with happiness. This verifies that the poor are unaware of the misery we see upon them. I would try to imagine myself in their shoes and I would automatically assume I would be miserable. This showed how I put to much value into materialistic things, and also how Smith was correct on how selfish humans really are. 

"Our Mission." Our Mission. Harvest Hands, 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.
Smith, Adam. "Online Library of Liberty." Online Library of Liberty. Library of Liberty, 1982. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.