From a Mother's Heart: It's Time to Amend our Constitution

It’s Time to Amend our Constitution

Rachel Stenback

Statue made from weapons, symbolizing nonviolence, in Cambodia

As the Christmas season beckons, only a week away, our country has been horribly reminded of the seriousness of our gun problem, as we all read horrifying accounts of innocent little children in Connecticut who were murdered, shot multiple times. As a parent, I can hardly even think about this incident without feeling sick; I desperately wish my own little daughter would never need to learn about such horrors. At soon-to-be three years old, she knows nothing of this evil in the world yet--guns. I wish I could protect her forever.

And so these are my credentials, why I am writing this: I am a mother, a parent; I will also be a teacher, and of course I am a concerned citizen. However, I am not a lawyer, nor am I a politician; perhaps that is why I am not afraid to share these thoughts, even though I know that many people would initially disagree.

I strongly feel that the only way to enable this country to evolve into a land where every man, woman, child, and visitor is safe is to amend our founding document, the Constitution. Why do I feel like the only one who is saying these words—“amend the Constitution”? Why are people so terrified of these words? It’s time to speak them. It needs to be said, because the time has come to amend the Constitution. I realize that my international experience has probably influenced my way of thinking (about 10 yrs in Sweden and 3 in China); but I am glad that it has. The fact of the matter is, I felt safer than anywhere else when I lived in China, much safer than in the US, and I think an international perspective is necessary in order to view the problem of gun violence objectively. (See articles, below).

Countless people cite their Constitutional right to own a gun based on this document, as if they believe it is set in stone. It is, however, a living document, one that has been amended several times throughout our country’s great history. Women now have the right to vote, for example, and slavery is now prohibited, thanks to changes throughout the years. When the Constitution was written in the late 1700s, and the 2^nd Amendment, the United States was a very different place than it is today. Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst, writes: "The Second Amendment is, of course, very much part of the American fabric. But the intent of the founders was that the amendment protected the rights of citizens to bear arms in a militia for their collective self-defense. Today, we are not likely to need to organize local militias for our defense now we have something called the Pentagon." (See link to his excellent article, below).

 

Also, the guns to which the Constitution refers were much larger, simpler weapons; there was no police force for protection and the people wanted to ensure they could protect their families by themselves. This was a noble thought, but one that has since been twisted as desperate people cling through ignorance to their belief that only a gun will bring them security. Who can honestly believe that our Founding Fathers would be happy or proud if they knew what had become of our country now—the country with the most deaths by guns in the entire world? Compare, for example, to Japan, with almost no gun deaths at all, in the interesting article below.
In this current situation, there is no way to keep guns out of the hands of those would use them to harm others, such as the mentally ill or criminal. The shooter in Connecticut, even if he would have been deemed mentally ill and therefore not been able to purchase a gun, simply would have done just as he did, taken the two weapons that were already there in his own home through his mother, and used them.

Once and for all, amend the Constitution.  It has been done before to better our nation, and it is time now again. Amend the Constitution so that guns may only be found in military and law enforcement, except clearly registered hunters with hunting rifles, who must keep them much more carefully locked up (such as in Sweden).

Only when this happens will desperate parents finally be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief, because finally they will be able to send their little children to school again without the pain of fear in their hearts. Finally, malls, streets, nursing homes, street corners, and all other public places will be free. No more will convenience store owners be terrified every time a person opens the door at night. I do not mean that violence will magically disappear after guns are confiscated; of course not. We need to work to deal with long-term solutions to poverty, hunger, isolation, depression, mental illness, and drug and alcohol use that can lead to violence, since violence will still be present. But without guns, the desperate, angry, or mentally ill people will not be able to so swiftly and horrifyingly slaughter so many people. Had the killer in the Connecticut shooting only had access to knives, for example, he certainly could still have managed to kill his own mother and perhaps injure a few people at the school, and that would have been very sad. But certainly many of the precious lives lost, those of the “beautiful children” as President Obama tearfully stated, would have been saved.

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I recommend these interesting articles: Here is an excellent opinion article which brings up the fact that the US gun problem is actually a national security issue with a lot of thought-provoking statistics. Read it!

 Article comparing Japan (with almost no gun deaths) to the US (countless deaths)

And also this one, simply a chart over gun-related homicides in the developed world, also through the Washington Post

And finally, an opinion article from the NYTimes

 

 

Light in dark December with Saint Lucia

"December 13th is the date when children across Sweden dress up in white sheets, set their heads on fire (they actually don't, they just put flaming candles in their hair) and parade through the city singing Christmas carols. Welcome to Lucia, a slightly weird but beautiful winter celebration, deeply rooted in the heart of every Swede." These are the words of Kalle Bergman in a good article in the Huffington Post article about Lucia with recipe.

Lucia in Uppsala Cathedral, 2012

Kalle Bergman continues to describe Lucia and its history in the article: "Lucia is weird partly because its origin is a medieval patchwork of folklore combined with pagan, Catholic and Lutheran traditions from Italy, Sweden and Germany. The Catholic roots come from Sicily where Saint Lucia was killed for her beliefs and subsequently celebrated as a saint... on the 13th of December. Pagan, because the winter solstice was considered an especially dangerous time in 16th century Sweden. Evil powers were at play, and even the animals were believed to be able to speak during the winter solstice. Actions were taken to keep ghosts and goblins away, and the Chrismas pig was supposed to be butchered before this day."

Here are a few more articles about Lucia if you are interested: Lucia Traditions and from the Washington Post, here.

December is a very dark month in Sweden. Depending upon where in the country you are, you may or may not even see the sun. In the far north, it is dark most of the winter. Hours of daylight in Sweden (table of daylight hours).

Perhaps because of the darkness all around us (except thankfully now we have crisp white snow brightening Uppsala, and lovely frost-covered trees) Swedes are quite obsessed with light. And what better way to acknowledge the love of light, and all that it symbolizes, than with a festival dedicated to light: Saint Lucia (Sankta Lucia).

As the article above states, the 13th of December is Lucia in Sweden. Generally in the morning, at home, the children will wake up their parents and present "fika" (special saffran-flavored rolls and other treats like gingerbread cookies) and songs. And all over in society one can find Lucia celebrations. I am very excited to attend Yaminah's Lucia at her daycare. She comes home singing Lucia songs so I know they have been practicing for a while now.

Collegium Cantorum's Lucia Concert 2012

In Uppsala's beautiful Cathedral we have a traditional Lucia celebration on the Sunday of the week of Lucia, which was today. My choir, Collegium Cantorum, joined the girls' choir (Flickkören) for a lovely Lucia program. We sang traditional Lucia songs, and some nontraditional, beautiful songs, including "O Magnum Mysterium" by Lauridsen. We started the program with eight sopranos singing "Det är en ros utsprungen" from the balcony and then we gradually moved to the very front of the church, everyone dressed in a white gown and carrying a candle, following the girl with the candles on her head, the Lucia.

Here are a few videos of the last songs we sang during our concert. Note that Tomas filmed these from his chair, while holding Yaminah on his lap, so the filming is a bit so-so, ahem...but at least you can get the idea! (Note: it took forever to upload videos so I have reduced their size a lot, but hopefully you can still see something!)

 

 

 And now, the recessional...

 

 

And then on December 13, we were very excited to attend Yaminah's Lucia at her daycare. They had been practicing for weeks, as I mentioned earlier. Parents and grandparents gathered to watch the daycare children, most dressed in white gowns or some as little santas or other Christmasy things, gave us a Lucia program. The singing was so much fun to watch, I have to share it with you! Unfortunately, you will hardly be able to see--it was nearly totally dark inside so my phone did not capture much--but you can listen. And yes, the girl's voice you probably hear singing quite loudly, is Yaminah. Afterwards people told us that she had done a great job (she seems to know all the verses to every song and sang out, to say the least). One other mother said, "She is like a pop music star already!" but I am pretty sure she meant that in a positive way. :)  Maybe you can get a sense of what the program was like when the cameras flash--chaotic, with one little child running back and forth and making funny noises, but lots of kids singing and just looking adorable. Here is our little Lucia.

 

 

Lucia...a time to stop, celebrate the light within winter's darkness...and a time to think ahead to Christmas. I wish you a bright December, full of light!