The Battlefield Called "America"
Published in Tokyo Shimbun
(Japan) on 31 December 2012
by Toru Ando (link to original)
(Japan) on 31 December 2012
by Toru Ando (link to original)
Translated from
by Stephanie Chiu.
Edited by Kyrstie Lane.
The year after an election is important in every country in the world. Among the events of America’s 2012 presidential election — an election that showed a highly divided public — former Congressman Gabrielle Giffords' appearance at the Democratic National Convention particularly stands out.
Last January, at a public meeting in Arizona, Mrs. Giffords took a severe gunshot wound to the head. Thanks to her astounding resilience, she was able to show the public a lively expression after several months of rehabilitation. In doing so, she gave hope to the country.
On the final day of the convention, Giffords went onstage again, this time before President Obama’s acceptance speech. She recited the Pledge of Allegiance and brought the entire audience to tears.
The death of the young girl who was born on Sept. 11 and killed in the Tucson shooting, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School this month — just how many tragedies will there be?
"The only effective measure is appropriate arming of every school. Having debates about gun control in Congress is a waste of time that gives only ambiguous results and will not protect our children's lives."*
The vice president of the National Rifle Association said this with a serious expression. His reasoning is completely devoted to a belief in power — the same as the reasoning behind the former Bush administration’s morality play during the war on terror. Shouldn’t peacetime logic and morals be the opposite of wartime logic?
After the Newtown shooting, Mrs. Gifford’s husband, Mr. Kelly, appealed on the Internet for “meaningful discussion” about gun control. “These tragedies must end,” President Obama said at a prayer vigil in Newtown. The world is watching their course.
*Editor’s Note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.
Last January, at a public meeting in Arizona, Mrs. Giffords took a severe gunshot wound to the head. Thanks to her astounding resilience, she was able to show the public a lively expression after several months of rehabilitation. In doing so, she gave hope to the country.
On the final day of the convention, Giffords went onstage again, this time before President Obama’s acceptance speech. She recited the Pledge of Allegiance and brought the entire audience to tears.
The death of the young girl who was born on Sept. 11 and killed in the Tucson shooting, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School this month — just how many tragedies will there be?
"The only effective measure is appropriate arming of every school. Having debates about gun control in Congress is a waste of time that gives only ambiguous results and will not protect our children's lives."*
The vice president of the National Rifle Association said this with a serious expression. His reasoning is completely devoted to a belief in power — the same as the reasoning behind the former Bush administration’s morality play during the war on terror. Shouldn’t peacetime logic and morals be the opposite of wartime logic?
After the Newtown shooting, Mrs. Gifford’s husband, Mr. Kelly, appealed on the Internet for “meaningful discussion” about gun control. “These tragedies must end,” President Obama said at a prayer vigil in Newtown. The world is watching their course.
*Editor’s Note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.