I talk a lot of shit on America, and probably all of it is justified. We do some dumb stuff, but whenever something like the Dark Knight Shooting happens, I tend to be proud of the country I live in. The mere fact that 12 deaths in a movie theater is considered a national tragedy is a testament to how safe our country really is. From a historical perspective, this few deaths making national news is completely unprecedented. The world, as viewed from the eyes of our ancestors, is that it is a given that the world is a scary fucking place, and they literally had to worry about their survival EVERY DAY. Men would go out hunting, and if some didn’t come back, nobody blinked an eye. That’s the way it was. Even today, in a majority of countries, twelve deaths happen without recourse all the time, but in America, it flows into public debate, outrage, compassion, and empathy. We ask questions that only a truly safe society asks. These are high-minded questions (from a historical perspective) that I am thankful we get to converse upon. People say things like: “It’s incidents like these that really remind you of how fragile life is.”

It is a privilege to only be reminded of this every once in awhile. For most of history, it was a privilege to go a day not being reminded of this.

America is a very safe place. Anyone who thinks otherwise should read Steven Pinker’s book: “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.” The only reason it seems the opposite is because, via the media, we hear about every tragedy.

A hundred years ago, if there was a bar fight and someone was killed, the cops would ask if it was a fair fight. A hundred years ago, newspapers would report on men who would “probably be lynched” within a matter of days.

We are a lot better off, gun control or not. And we, as a nation, do not accept violence. Not even a little bit. That’s something to be proud of.