Missing the Bullseye

     According to Wikipedia, E.J. Dionne Jr. is a journalist, political commentator, and “long-time op-ed columnist” for The Washington Post.  He is also “a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, a University Professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at the McCourt School of Public Policy, and an NPR, MSNBC, and PBS commentator.”  His experience as a political commentator and political science academician is a testament to his credibility and knowledge in all things political. 

     In a recent Washington Post article “Why is only one side in the gun culture war required to show respect?,” Dionne Jr. argues that advocates for greater gun control laws are often required to be empathetic and respectful of the beliefs and fears of ardent 2^nd Amendment supporters, yet the opposite is not evident.  He claims that a similar call for empathy and respect is not demanded of those individuals with what he calls “extreme pro-gun views.” 

     While one could argue that Dionne Jr.’s intended audience is the collective of ardent 2^nd Amendment supporters he references, I suspect his intended audience is truly meant to be the everyman who doesn’t recognize that he is a pawn in the NRA’s scheme to keep us at each other’s throats.  In fact, Dionne Jr. highlights recent Quinnipiac polls which show much broader support for tightening of gun control laws across all Americans, gun owners and otherwise, thus emphasizing that we have far more common beliefs and goals on guns than is purported by the NRA, the media outlets which profit from them, and the politicians that are in its pockets.  This is a strong statement and one that I wish Dionne Jr. had truly made the centerpiece of his article.  Instead, his message gets muddied by erroneous talk of mutual respect and empathy and lack of “cross-cultural understanding.”  His own included statistics challenge that notion and point a solid finger of blame toward the NRA and its complicit partners.  Let’s call a spade a spade, Dionne Jr., and let go of the inflaming rhetoric about respect and empathy – it feeds right into the hands of the NRA.