…Then What?

“Every time you make a rule you are unwilling or unable to enforce, you undermine your credibility and legitimacy of leadership.”

This has been a fundamental idea of my own style of leadership for years and has been cultivated from experiences with some of the most asinine and/or hypocritical rules typical of Army life:

“You have to write your own NCOER.” (Said by a Sergeant First Class who is remembered as being one of the worst NCOs I have ever worked with…)

“I’m not sucking in my gut…” (Said by a Captain who quite obviously was in order to pass his height/weight test…)

“If you want to get paid, you will go to finance…” (Said by the same S-1 NCO who had been responsible in my pay stopping half a month after our redeployment from Afghanistan…)

You get the idea.

These problems are not unique or isolated to the Army. I am fairly certain that similar problems have been experienced by any who have graced the halls of any bureaucratic institution or large corporation. Nothing new under the sun, really…

However, in light of the recent events in Florida and the ongoing discussions on Facebook, a question has come to mind: more legislation is passed… then what?

More legislation has not been a sufficient answer for other questions. Congressman Gowdy followed a similar thread a 2015 question to Kelli Ann Burriesci of the Department of Homeland Security:

…Maybe we ought to find out how good a job we’re doing with the current statutes that we have. Do you know how many prosecutions that there were for… say the last three years… for folks who tried to purchase a firearm that were not here legally?

 The whole testimony was painful, but this isn’t the point.

I originally intended this blog with one key issue in mind:

How many were prosecuted for falsifying information on their ATF Form 4473 (Firearms Transaction Record) in 2016?

In the four hours I have been at the research into one simple answer, a lot of supporting information has been found, but no clear answer. One part of the complex answer requires an understanding of one a document I have referenced before: 18 U.S.C. § 922(d). Another part of the answer is that, “…in 2016, a record total of 27,538,673 firearm background checks were processed.” Of those, 120,497 transactions were denied due to the background checks by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

“Providing false information is a federal crime,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2016’s Audit of the Handling of Firearms Purchase Denials Through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. However, that same report indicated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office “generally hold the view that prosecuting subjects for false statements on a firearm application absent other aggravating circumstances may not be the best use of Department resources.” Interesting.

Media is not the problem, we are. As one of my favorite medics would say, “All y’all’s the problem.” We have set the conditions for our current situation – the idea of adding more legislation to that which is already selectively enforces doesn’t seem to be a plausible solution to a tenuous situation. While such an action would placate the immediate call for “something to be done,” isn’t that what we’ve seen as part of this unfortunate pattern of violence, outrage, and apathy?

How many were prosecuted for falsifying information on their ATF Form 4473 in 2016?

I never found out. Part of my problem – too many big ideas, not enough time… especially when wading through the digital morass of reports, audits, testimonies, and peer-reviewed articles. I will undoubtedly return to this topic once again, since we are coming up on Spring and the beginning of another heated summer… which leads me to my next musing from a recent discussion…

 

With all the discussion on Social Media, what is going to change?

Do most people even know who their representative is? Their district?

Some of the discussions I have been lurking on are interesting… some are just facepalms with words… but other than polarizing family and friends, what does it all accomplish?

From my own estimation, most folks vote not based on factual understanding of the candidates and their platforms, but along political affiliation (at best) and media representation (middle option), or identity (at worse). There is little understanding of the processes involved in their role of participation in civics.

I get the point of the discussion thus far, but what is going to change? How long will these issues hold the collective and fickle attention of those outraged? How much will both sides actually listen to what the other is saying and understand that there has to be compromises on both sides?
I can only hope that folks see through this nonsense and stop to think about what they share/comment upon/vote, rather than just follow the media-driven cycle of “crisis… argument… apathy… forget… repeat.” After all, where is the outrage when it comes to the ongoing problems faced by many larger cities with their non-stop bender of violence? Are we only concerned when these events occur outside the realms of expectation/acceptance? AND (sorry, lots of questions), are any of the current discussions even realistic in their execution?
“Ban guns!”
Then what?
“Defund Planned Parenthood!”
Then what?
Both serve a purpose to the groups they support, and have their benefits as well as their liabilities… but what happens next, if the critics of each get their way through legislation?

A comment from a friend:

We’ve been bombarded with claims of fake news, sometimes truly fake and others truly not fake, so to support what they believe people have resorted to sharing anything that proves their point, be it true or not.

Yep.

The bad thing…? This has been going on for AGES. As much as I rant and rave about the perils of public opinion dictating policy, I (of all people) have to sit back and realize that the 18th amendment grew from public opinion steering legislation… and we all know how well *that* turned out, nationally.

Gr.

Yeah, Social Media tends to get irritating, at times – that was the motivating factor behind me deactivating my account last year. However, I still stand by my decisions to re-engage: I can’t let the din of dissent dictate my level of participation, and sometimes rational perspectives offered here may give folks a reason to pause a bit. However, no one likes a moderate, so I lurk.

My wife brought up a good point when we were discussing the influence of the media in the larger cities: the audience is usually captive (in traffic), and isolated (hectic work/life schedule to afford to live in said cities) … therefore removed from the rest of the nation. Social Media can often be the same: we mute folks out of exasperation for their viewpoints and foster the dangerous “bubble” of opinion from the comforts of wherever our computer/phone is. While I asked several rhetorical questions, my main point still stands – what are people going to do about any of the things that pisses them off so much? What happens after they get their way?

I see a dangerous fertilization going on: there is so much unfocused anger and frustration that, politically, the “solutions” that may be offered and championed may do nothing but accelerate the downfall of our own society… and that the “hive mentality” will only ask “what happened?” when it is far too late to do anything about it.

“I fear for my kids and their kids, I fear they will not see or believe in the great America that I so love.”

I agree and feel the same way… to a certain extent. It is events like these that reinforce my own ideas and hopes for my son and those kids of my friends and family… I cannot dictate how others raise their kids, but I sure as hell can do the best I can to raise ours the right way and hope that the example of successes aren’t as isolated as they seem at times.

I guess what it boils down to is keeping the faith in what actions I can influence and minimizing the impacts of that which I can’t. Yeah, we’re old farts, but we’re crafty and proud old farts…. the stupid shall not have an easy time in their nefarious plans of ignorance and hate.