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Editor's Note: When I read the newspaper, I read the local section, sometimes the business section and of the front page section, I only read the next to the back page which is the Editorial Page. I saw this in our Letters To The Editor (on Friday, September 19, 2003) and was so impressed by how accurately Mr. Samuda nailed this whole issue that I made all due haste typing it into HTML code so I could publish it here. Much bigger audience than just Riverside County. I think everyone, no matter which side of the Gun Control issue you are standing on..should read this and take heed. Maybe with this kind of thinking based upon values instead of political chronyism and lobbyists bribe booty, we can actually get down to what the problem really is. After reading Mr. Samora's letter, you will also know where the problem really lies.
READERS'
OPEN FORUM
Easier to Blame The Gun
I am one African -American who refuses to blame recently publicized killings, including that of Yetunde Prince, on guns. ("Time to protest recent killings" Open Forum Sept. 18) I've never seen a gun that can load itself, choose its own target, aim itself and pull its own trigger.
I am also one African American who dares to suggest that the root issue behind senseless shootings lies within the human soul. Before someone uses a gun, a knife, a baseball bat or bare hands to murder someone else, the murder has already occurred within the murderer's heart
Murder has its roots in a heart filled with hate (often self-hate) instead of a value and appreciation for human life.
All Americans must identify and confront the cultural influences that would rob us and especially rob our children of a value and appreciation for human life. However, that takes self-effort and requires that we accept ownership of our circumstances. It means that we must scrutinize our own heart, personal values and ethics.
It also means that we must accept responsibility for our children's moral development and confront social influences that negatively impact that development. Shucks, it's easier to blame guns.
Eric Samuda
Corona
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