As 2023 draws to a close, Worldcrunch has asked its writers to reflect on the past year — and look ahead to 2024.
-Essay-
PARIS — “Do you want to go shoot some guns in the backyard?”
It was a not-very-surprising offer from my uncle, who probably suspected the answer would be a non merci from his half-French/half-American niece on our annual visit to my father’s family in Louisiana.
I’ve grown up in Paris watching from afar as the headlines and video footage of American mass shootings arrived on an almost monthly basis in my news feed.
This past year has been no different: there were more than 600 shootings in the United States. Despite efforts across the country to try and reduce gun violence, there is only so much that can be done in a country where guns are prominent in the culture and the rights of gun ownership are set in stone.
Forty-four states have a provision in their state constitutions similar to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms, and makes it hard to implement stricter gun laws.
Still, it doesn’t have to be universal: California, for example, is one of the states with the strictest gun laws in the country, requiring a thorough background check for all gun purchasers.
After a surge of shootings during summer 2023, mayors and police officials across the country started to implement strategies to keep the peace. This included making officers more visible and engaging with community groups, in some cases leaning on civilians to enforce curfews to try and keep the peace.
In September, American retailer Target announced it was closing nine stores in major cities across four states, claiming theft and organized crime had made the environment unsafe for staff and customers.
Meanwhile teachers and educators, at the forefront of combating gun violence in their schools and communities, are intensifying their efforts to help identify root causes of violence, spread awareness and protect themselves and their students. According to a report from the RAND corporation, more than half the country’s teachers believe that arming themselves would make students less safe, while 1 in 5 say they would be interested in carrying a gun to school.
Teachers with guns… arming yourself to protect yourself: these are concepts that are virtually unfathomable to anyone living in Europe, and continues to feed the global image of a violent, disconnected culture of the U.S.
U.S. fueling wars across the globe
And yet, the American weapon culture (and economy) is not only about the home front. The world this past year added its second major war with global implications. With the Ukraine-Russia war continuing, the Middle East has now also blown up — and it’s safe to say the U.S. has their fair share of involvement in both of these conflicts.
Every year, the U.S. sends billions of dollars in aid (much more than any other country) to allied nations in hopes of continuing to support, expand and build its influence around the world..
Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has become the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, Joe Biden’s administration and the U.S. Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support.
But this is not a surprise. The United States is the country that spends the most on its military. Its defense budget for the year 2023 is $816.7 billion. And in the wake of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, U.S. leaders reaffirmed their 75-year-old military alliance with Israel. With an annual amount of $3.8 billion coming from the U.S., Biden has now planned to send $14.3 billion for air and missile defense, military financing and embassy support.
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pin_description=”” caption=”U.S. soldier training in a military exercise with NATO allies in Germany” photo_credit=”Jose Rodriguez/U.S. Army/ZUMA” photo_credit_src=”http://www.zuma24.com”]
U.S. soldier training in a military exercise with NATO allies in GermanyJose Rodriguez/U.S. Army/ZUMA
Death count
And just like weapons used at the mass shootings in America’s schools, malls and movie theaters, the devices sent abroad are efficient killing machines. A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that 315,000 Russians have died in the Ukraine war since the conflict began. Meanwhile, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 20,000 Palestinians have died since October 7.
Recently, a new U.S. intelligence assessment reported that nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza have been unguided, otherwise known as “dumb bombs” which may “achieve their purpose,” yet do so with complete disregard for civilian casualties.
Preparation for violence as recompense for violence committed, seems to be America’s cultural default. That, and a guns and weapons culture and economy to keep it all going.
Nobody can deny self defense is necessary on both a personal and international level. Yet we need to formulate responses to violence that are more designed to change root causes than to simply respond with overwhelming violence and turn weapons into a national fetish. Maybe then, foreign visitors might even be ready to join the gunplay in American backyards.
Uvalde And Moi: Reflections From The French Niece Of A Gun-Owning American — WORLDCRUNCH
War Of Attrition, Western Fatigue, U.S. Election: Clock Is Ticking On Ukraine’s Fate — GAZETA WYBORCZA
Why Israel Must Renounce Its Goal Of Eliminating Hamas — FRANCE INTER
