In our column The Daily Dose we trot out a line after each mass shooting about merely cutting and pasting the last mass shooting column. It’s a sad commentary, of course, but an accurate one. Long ago the question went from if another mass shooting would occur, to merely when the next one would be. 

I‘ve always felt we have violent American citizens because we have a violent American government. Our nation has been at war every day since we invaded Panama in 1989 and a generation later we are feeling the effects. If America had been at peace every day since 1989 we wouldn’t be going through this. Among other things, the Twin Towers would still be standing, ISIS wouldn’t exist and mass shootings would be rare occurrences.

Violence has become the go-to reaction for our government, so it should be no surprise violence has become the go-to reaction for our citizens. I‘ve long said that we will not have a peaceful world without a peaceful America. Similarly, we will not have peaceful Americans without a peaceful American government.

Violence begets violence and the only dividend violence produces is more violence. As long as we have a violent American government we will violent American citizens. The carnage will not stop.

We deserve better. We deserve an America at peace with the rest of the world and with itself. But we must demand it at the ballot box this Election Day. If we re-elect the status quo nothing will change. The time has come for you and me – we the people – to demand better than what we have now.

So let’s go get the country we want this Election Day. I ‘m Gaylon Kent and I‘ll lead the charge.

Gaylon