There has been so much happening in the last two weeks it’s hard to know where to put the focus. The United States has borne the brunt of three major hurricanes this summer; first, Texas was devastated by Hurricane Harvey; then Florida by Hurricane Irma, and then Maria hit Puerto Rico. Maria destroyed 90 percent of the structures on the island, took out all power and most of the cell phone service. Oh, wait. According to our president, Maria was not a “real catastrophe like Katrina.” So I guess there’s nothing more to be said about hurricanes hitting United States or its territories.

Moving on, health care is a mess. The Republicans are hell-bent on repealing “Obamacare,” otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act. Admittedly, that attempt at covering more people was not a great solution at any time. But instead of coming up with workable health care for the citizens of our country, Congress is fighting like children who have chosen up sides for a game of Red Rover Come Over. (Does that date me? Perhaps.) Heaven forbid we have universal health care systems like Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Japan, among others. There are so many arguments as to why this is not feasible, or why it is. It’s probably all fake news anyway.

Guns. “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” When a terrorist or deranged person kills 50-plus people and injures hundreds of other with a knife, I will advocate for controlling the sale of knives. To my conservative friends, yes, guns do kill people.

I can see no reason on earth for anyone outside of the military or law enforcement to own an automatic weapon, or to be able to buy a semi-automatic that can be converted into a machine gun. I had a friend tell me once that hunters use semi-automatics. Really? You stalk your prey and then shred it to death? I’m sorry, there is no reason to own that kind of weapon, except to kill other people. I have no problem with anyone owning a rifle or shotgun, or having a pistol for personal protection. When our forefathers wrote the Bill of Rights they had no notion of how “arms” would change in the coming centuries. “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Gun advocates always leave out the part about “being necessary to the security of a free state.” My interpretation of this Amendment to the Constitution is vastly different from my National Rifle Association buddies. The NRA has a stranglehold on Congress. Talk about fake news sources. Remember, gun control doesn’t work! Except in Canada, Japan, England, Spain, Australia, Sweden, Iceland, Italy, Israel, Denmark, Germany …

Kneeling during the National Anthem has become the form of protest du jour. And Americans are going nuts over it. While I do not approve of that method of protest, and I would not kneel myself, I firmly defend the right of those who do. Sorry, folks, if you’re going defend the Second Amendment right to buy guns of all shapes and sizes, you have to also buy into the freedom of speech and expression protected in the First Amendment. Our servicemen and women fought for this right. They fought for the freedoms our Constitution gives us. And yes, they and their sacrifice should be honored. But the right to protest in this manner is protected by our Constitution.

I’ve taken a lot of flack for my views. I’ve been told I am wrong. I’ve been told I’m not patriotic. I find it interesting that Republican conservatives on the Internet most often resort to name calling to get their point across. I, and others who share my views, have been called lib-tards and whiners. I’m told that any news that doesn’t agree with Trump’s agenda is fake news. I don’t doubt that news sources are biased. They have been for decades. We used to accept it as propaganda. Now it is a tool to discredit others and sow discord. It’s a sad world we live in. We’ve lost our way. We have forgotten how to compromise and work for the good of our country. But amid all this chaos and acrimony, I have hope. Let disaster of any kind strike and it doesn’t matter if you’re are Republican, Democrat, liberal or conservative, black, white or brown. We work together. We, the people, are greater than any government. We are better than any government. We just need a cause.

I’m sure this column has started some arguments, and will probably draw fire from some. It’s probably all fake news anyway. So I guess I got nothin’ to say.

Robyn Near is a Ripley resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com