Spocko's Brain

Congressman Chris Collins (R) New York wrote an opinion piece titled:

I’m a member of Congress and I’m going to start carrying a gun Today U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R) Alabama introduced HR 2940 a bill that would permit congressional lawmakers to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the country except the U.S. Capitol or in the presence of the president or vice president.

Okay Reps. I hear you, you are scared. I get it, decades of the NRA passing laws making more guns available to more people with less training and fewer restrictions on where they can bring them makes the world a scarier place. Thanks Obama!

Congresspeople could do the logical thing and buy and wear body armor, which could actually protect them. As the old saying goes, “Guns don’t protect you, body armor does.”

But it’s not really about protecting yourself is it? Stopping bullets with a vest doesn’t sound bad ass enough. Too passive. You want people to think, “He’ll shoot anyone who looks at him funny.” Why let actual self-protection get in the way of the image of a gunslinger?

Before our congress members start wearing guns everywhere I have a few questions I think . . . → Read More: Does Rep. Collins Have Insurance For A Gun Accident?

My friend Will Bunch wrote a book about Reagan “Tear Down This Myth: The Right-Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy ” in which he recounted how profoundly the movie The Day After affected Reagan. It led to him pushing to reducing the nuclear arsenal. Reagan needed to see “the darkest timeline” play out on TV. That is how he absorbed information, via a visual story with characters he could imagine caring about pulling him in and keeping him engaged for two hours and 7 minutes.

As an actor Reagan understood the role appearance has in people’s perceptions. He must have had people telling him the US needed to appear strong to the Russians. He must also had others telling him about the danger of a brinkmanship and a nuclear accident we could not recover from. What was it about that movie that reached him? The images of destruction of the country? Did he relate to the characters who were like his family and friends? Or did he put himself in the picture? Was he thinking about how he personally would be seen before a conflict and then after a nuclear exchange?

DJT takes situations and turns them into personal . . . → Read More: Wanted: Role Model Of Strength & Restraint For Fox TV Appearance