Today We Celebrate Our “Freedom!” Happy 2nd Amendment Day

Here’s my new idea…let’s bake a big cake and celebrate every mass shooting as “Second Amendment Day.” It will be the day we send the victims our thoughts and prayers while smiling knowing that no matter how tragic the shooting NOTHING will be done by our “leaders”.

No, my conservative friends, the “Libtards” will not take your guns. They have tried many times before and always failed because it’s not about guns it’s about mental illness. But nothing will be done to strengthen mental health services either because “that’s socialism.” Or maybe, as the GOP suggests,  it’s the violent video games that are causing these mass shootings? Well, rest assured America, nothing will be done about the video games either because the GOP doesn’t really care. Besides, every mass shooting is a hoax by the Illuminati –unless of course, you or someone you love is a victim and then it’s very real (but don’t let it be known that you’ve lost a loved one or you’ll get death threats from Alex Jones fans).

Let’s face it. With all this “do nothingness” on the part of our elected leaders you’d think Americans actually like the mass shootings. After all, if we didn’t like ’em we’d have done something by now, right? Perhaps, if we really hated mass shootings, we’d have passed some common-sense gun laws years ago…but we didn’t, and all those do-nothing congressmen are still in office.

Now, you might say, “Maybe someday a ‘good guy with a gun’ will stop the shooter and we won’t celebrate this new holiday?”

And I reply, “No, my friend, that good guy will not.” We already have over 17 million concealed carry permit holders in the USA (according to the Crime Prevention Research Center) and not one of these heroes seems to be in the right time or place to be that “good guy with a gun.”

So let’s bake that cake and celebrate our “FREEDOMS!” After all, Second Amendment Day only comes seven or eight times a year…or is it nine or ten, I lose track.

By Clayton Callahan

P.S: This one is for Odessa, Texas. I’ve never been there.

PS: This was originally written after the Dayton shooting. I grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Many of my fondest youthful memories took place int he Oregon District.

George Takei Has Somthing To Say

If you know science fiction, you know George Takei–Sulu from Star Trek. Of course, no one is more than their job. The man has lived a fascinating life both on-screen and off, and I do consider him one of my personal heroes (fanboy much? Maybe).

Well, apparently, Mr. Takei also had an interesting and extremely difficult childhood. No, not like a lot of us who struggled with less than first-rate parents. In fact, Takei describes his parents as nothing if not loving and supportive. Sadly, it was his country that made little George’s childhood such a struggle. Born in the USA to US citizens, he was classified as an “enemy alien” just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

At five years old, along with his entire family, George was sent to live in a concentration camp right here in America.

Now, let me be clear, American concentration camps were not death camps. It was never the intention of the US government to exterminate Japanese people at home. However, when the British Army set up the world’s first concentration camps during the Boer War of 1899 to 1902, it was not their intention to exterminate the Boers either. Nevertheless, to deprive a group of people of their freedom due strictly to their ethnicity is the central idea behind any concentration camp and that definition describes the Japanese American “Internment” to a T.

Now, Mr. Tekei has just released a graphic novel about his childhood/wartime experiences titled, They Called Us Enemy. It is a gripping story and one that must be listened to. The compulsions that drove Americans to allow our own government to lock up human beings out of fear of what they may do rather than for things they had done are not unique to that period in history. Sadly, we have acted this way before and if left uneducated can and are acting this way again!

This book was written as a graphic novel to make it as accessible as possible. And I applaud Mr. Takei for that decision.  I will also say that the book is well written and well illustrated. It makes for a compelling read and does not try to sensationalize the experience of internment. Little George had good days and bad behind the barbed wire and I’m glad he told the whole story. I highly recommend you add this book to your library as an important part of any book collection whether you’re a fan of science fiction or not.

By Clayton Callahan