Navy Yard Shooting and the Main Stream Media

It is a tough time when these shootings happen. We see the clips played on the news after it happens for weeks and weeks to come. These "body count" type shootings are horrible and scarring and they happen far too often. Unfortunately, much of the mainstream media generally takes these terrible events and uses them to push their views and agendas on gun control. However, there is a bigger issue that needs to be looked at instead.

Within minutes of the news of the shooting in the navy yard, many news sources immediately started blaming the guns. CNN said in a headline that the shooter, Aaron Alexis, had an AR-15 rifle, which is a high powered, semi automatic weapon. This was the same gun that Adam Lanza was said to have used in the Sandy Hook shooting, but again, did not use. Shortly after, CNN  changed the headline to say the shooter had an AR-15 shotgun, which doesn't even exist. In my opinion, CNN, which is a left wing news broadcaster, wanted to use the term AR-15 to instill a fear in the minds of the viewers and give them the idea that guns are strictly bad. Time and time again, many news anchors and political pundits jump to gun control the second news breaks about these events. While it indeed may be necessary to have some sort of regulation changes on fire arms in the United States, this is simply not the way to push it. 

There is a much bigger issue at hand here than the guns. This issue is the person behind the trigger being pulled, and more importantly, their mental health. Almost every single one of these shooters has had a mental illness that either went undiagnosed or was ignored. The Navy Yard shooter, Aaron Alexis, had psychiatric issues in the past, as well as gun violence charges in the past, yet was still granted access onto the gun free navy yard. Adam Lanza, James Holmes, and Seung-Hui Cho, who are the perpetrators of a few recent spree killings, all had some sort of mental or psychiatric issue. In my opinion, this is a far more urgent topic than the gun itself. No gun can enter a building on its own and open fire. The problem lies within the people behind the guns, and mental health is an important issue that needs more attention in the United States. 

Syria

The current situation in Syria is no easy topic to either understand or create opinions about. The things that the people of Syria are experiencing are incredibly horrific. To have a once great and economically diverse country destroyed by a bloody civil war is almost impossible to imagine. However, it is easy to wish for relief and give compassion to the people of Syria because of this. Many Americans, including the President, want to get involved in Syria because of the disastrous chemical weapons that were allegedly used by the Syrian government on its people. While it is absolutely understandable to want to intervene and help out the people affected by these attacks, I believe that it is simply best not to get involved.

It may sound cold or inhumane to not want to help the people of Syria and get involved, but in my opinion, this situation is simply not our place to jump in. Additionally, President Obama's stance on the issue is incredibly hypocritical. As one of the most aggressive opposers of the war on Iraq, the President now wants to get involved in Syria under a situation that is nearly the same. After calling past political leaders warmongers, he now wants to jump into a situation that could very likely create another war for the United States. Despite the crimes of humanity that are happening to the Syrian people, I just don't think that it is the job of the United States to intervene in this situation. There is too much risk for another war for the United States, and the Syrian ties with Al-Qeada make it even more complex and dangerous.

Selfishness vs. Self Interest

Where is the line between selfishness and self interest? Is there even a line? Or maybe some sort of overlap? These are all questions I have been asking myself after this week's readings and discussions. Although it may be a small idea compared to some the thoughts discusses in class, it has really made me think. So what IS the difference between the two?

In my opinion, there is a very small difference between the two, but that difference is crucial. Both self interest and selfishness involve a concern with oneself, but where the line is drawn, is that selfishness is a concern for oneself without regard for others, and often at the expense of others. It is easy to say that someone with self interest is acting selfishly, but in reality, it is good for people to act in their self interest. Both self interested people and and selfish people want themselves to prosper, but selfishness comes out of greed whereas self interest is a general necessity to make sure your needs are fulfilled, which can often be a benefit, either emotionally or financially to other people around you.

In addition to Mandeville and Hutcheson's conflicting ideas on selfishness and self interest, the reading that truly sparked the deeper thought of this for me was from Smith's Of Sympathy. Smith said, "As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation. Though our brother is upon the rack, as long as we ourselves are at our ease, our senses will never inform us of what he suffers". This made me think about other people's situations that I will never experience and made me question if my own self-interest has any impact on these experiences. While it is obvious that selfishness can certainly impact other people's lives in a negative way, I wondered if the same was true for self interest, and came to my proposed conclusions above. 

Thinking about it and discovering my new ideas on self interest and selfishness has shed a new light on the importance of not being selfish. While self interest is a very good thing, one must be careful not to extend their self interest to a point where is negatively impacts someone else's life and situation.