The gun control issue and opposition to restrictions on tobacco use are symptomatic of how democracy is being desecrated by abandoning our responsibilities towards the welfare of the people
It was over a century and a half ago that in the wake of American civil war and large-scale death and destruction, the President of the United States (US) Abraham lincoln delivered the historic Gettysburg address, in which he said, “………..that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under god, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” All this while, the US and other democracies round the world have been guided by the lofty ideals and the very essence of democracy contained in the address.
However, recent developments clearly indicate that the US, which has been the citadel of democratic values and practices (barring some chronic flaws), is undergoing disturbing changes in its power structure, and has clearly abandoned these sacred tenets of democracy.
It has now been many decades that gun ownership and wanton killing of innocent people, including school children, has gone on unabated, but the powers that be are totally reluctant to impose restrictions on gun ownership, essentially because it benefits the producers of guns and those associated with its expanded business.
Unfettered access to purchase of guns, irrespective of the mental soundness and a sense of responsibility that ownership of a gun requires, gives the gun lobby huge market opportunities. The recent shooting of innocent children in a school in Parkland, Florida, has left the world and the survivors in that school totally devastated, but lawmakers remain unmoved in imposing restrictions on gun ownership.
The huge political power of the gun lobby can be seen from the fact that the US is home to 88 guns for every 100 people. The number two country in respective of gun ownership is Yemen, which has 50.8 guns per 100 people. Americans overall are 25 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than people in other developed countries. According to a study in 2014 published in the International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, the US suffers mass shootings at more than 11 times the rate of any other developed country.
For much too long now, the power of dirty money from organisations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the US has influenced Government decisions. The Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, mentioned in response to the recent shooting of innocents in Florida, “I think we need to pray, and our hearts go out to these victims”. This expression of sympathy would normally have been appreciated, but Paul Ryan received $49,650 in direct contributions from the NRA during his nearly two decades in the US Congress, and he thus made no mention of gun control. And, there are hundreds of US politicians who are in the same league, including the occupant of the White House.
Essentially, the current situation of complete inaction and a lack of desire to legislate for and implement gun control is a case of “Government of the people” being overtaken by the interests of just a few. The gun control problem also has similarities with the apathy of Governments and overt as well as covert efforts of the tobacco industry to restrict the use of tobacco worldwide. Sadly, the poorer the region or country, the greater is the use of tobacco as some informal surveys have revealed.
In India too, stronger restrictions on tobacco use, combined with creating public awareness on the harm that tobacco consumption imposes, would need stronger public action and a more proactive effort by the Government.
Globally, the use of tobacco kills more people than tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. In India, the problem of tobacco consumption has some special peculiarities because of several types of tobacco use and smoking forms. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), globally, there were 100 million premature deaths due to tobacco in the 20th century, and if current trends of tobacco use continue, the number is expected to rise one billion in the 21st century. The serious health hazard created by increasing use of tobacco in India is another example of the interests of the many being subjugated to the narrow and short-term gains of just a few, which includes the entire tobacco industry, and those associated with its production and trade.
The gun control problem and restrictions on tobacco use are symptomatic of how democracy is being desecrated through abandonment of responsibilities towards the welfare of the people at large. In dealing with climate change, the power of vested interests has been colossal, because the fossil fuel lobby not only sows doubts in the minds of the public on the scientific validity of climate changebut goes to the extent of assailing those who are vocal in bringing scientific facts to the doorstep of the public.
The impacts of climate change are becoming progressively more serious, and a delay in action or neglect of steps that are required to be taken will only create unbearable hazards for the current generation of youth and those yet to come. But the powerful lobbies, who now have a vicious grip on Governments, could not care less, provided they make easy profits year after year.
It was a person who spent his entire career behind a gun, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who while leaving office as President of the US, warned us of the power of the “military-industrial complex”. But, we have clearly ignored his warning and abandoned the principles of democracy laid down by Abraham lincoln.
As the world’s largest democracy, it is important for India to learn the lessons from the flaws and distortions of other countries, such as the United States, or else we would also become major desecrators of democracy with devastating consequences.
The one ray of light which appears now is the enormous effort being made by the youth of the school in Parkland, Florida, where last week’s tragedy took place. It is particularly important that they use their moral power to not only influence the state legislature and the Governor of Florida, but also create public opinion for action to introduce gun control. It is important that on all such issues, whether it is banning of tobacco consumption or action to deal with climate change, youth power should come to the fore.
It is after all their future which is at serious risk, and clearly it is for them to take leadership, as indeed they are doing with the authorities in Florida. If the current tragedy leads to youth succeeding in imposition of gun control, then perhaps such carnage will never happen again.
(The writer is former chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2002-15)