It’s no longer just about the second amendment, anymore. What we need is thoughtful examination into why there is so much individual violence against our fellows.

Thanks to Google, you can find out how former regimes have committed atrocities against human beings under their control.

For instance, the ancient Aztecs were notorious for human sacrifices. Notably, the allfemale warriors to the King of Dahomey, are reported to have beheaded their enemies.

A listing of how the Mongols slaughtered and pillaged across an entire continent, of how the Chinese bound women’s feet, or how Japanese warriors committed suicide to preserve their “honor”, bears a closer look for comparisons.

Is one set of traditions better than the other? No. There is enough bad to go around.

The bottom line is that humans have treated their fellow humans badly since, forever.

Yet, we have supposedly evolved beyond our baser nature. But, have we? Atrocities are universal, and they continue to be practiced — world-wide —against religious minorities, women, the disabled, diseased and demented, sexual variants, to name a few.

It does not take a lot of research to find out about ongoing wholesale genocides, systematic mass-starvations, cremations, pogroms, Crusades, thousand mile marches, slave trading, establishment of concentration camps, human sexual-trafficking, etc.

And, that’s a short list of documented inhumane acts.

A cursory review of the United Nations Security Council issues and campaigns should give one pause. They include nearly all the ongoing atrocities committed around the world, but interestingly, not the ongoing domestic terrorism in the USA.

Consider, our western culture is governed by principles rooted in a JudeoChristian code dating back 5,000-plus years (see the old and new testaments in the Bible to read how those principles were developed).

And even though we do not have a national religion, the governing documents of the U.S. Constitution and other founding guidelines are based on westernized Christian principles. (Reminder: there is an eastern Christian rite that differs from what we know and practice here).

What about the non-western world? The in Texas majority of today’s population resides in Asia; China and India being the most populous, and their governing codes are rooted in a different system of beliefs and morality.

About domestic terrorism: research is being done on the phenomenon of “the lone gunman” (usually a white male). Is he mentally unbalanced? Drug or alcohol poisoned? Politically brainwashed? Or just plain angry about his loss of high standing in the USA? More will be revealed.

But can knowledge about our base nature provide any justification or excuse for supporting any of these behaviors? Ancient or modern, man’s general distaste and intolerance of his fellow man seems part of the natural order of things.

Or is it? Mass shootings in the USA; ethnic cleansing of Rohinghya from Myanmar (Burma); systematic burning of indigenous people out from the Amazon rain forest; rich men raping underage girls with impunity; going uncensored and unpunished for grabbing women by their genitals, etc., are happening now.

Clearly, a pattern of raw and un-adulterated cruelty runs deep, especially in some of the current world leaders. We have seen this before.

Yet, many of us continue to work on improving our natures. There are volumes of speeches, dozens of resolutions, endless prayers, countless commissions and studies, new movements and various organized outcries against mistreatment to demonstrate that there is a thread of decency running in some human beings.

I have not lost hope that mankind will continue to evolve into a better version of itself, but I fear that time is running out, and that that mankind will soon be forced to confront the apocalyptic scenarios that Hollywood has so perfected.

Yes, I believe that a significant climate disaster is happening, and that the earth had been damaged by human beings.

I can clearly see how, in short order, we will need to begin to horde food, water, and harvested clean air, and that the use of these commodities will be highly regulated—and monitored.

The ultimate question will be: who gets to the front of the lines? You know, given our time-honored penchant for maltreatment… Vote 2020!