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Everyday I watch the news or hear about a story that just blows my mind. I can't help but wonder that as a country we have become cowards in general. I am talking about all the murders, shootings, stabbings, rapes, and the rest of the violent crimes that take place.

Our country was founded and established by a bunch of men that were up against the British Empire. England was the most powerful country in the world at the time of the Revolutionary War. The colonists came to this country and won a major war and started this country. There is no need to go into all the details of the war because if you have been in any of your history classes in school you know them.

Now you can't turn on the news without hearing about some violent crime being committed. When I was in junior high school, or even high school for that matter, fights were settled with fists rather than weapons. There are going to be disagreements in life and no form of fighting is acceptable but I'd much rather see someone fighting with their hands than with guns and knives.

If you watch shows like COPS, for example, you see gang members and they act so tough. But they aren't really tough at all, are they? Does it take a tough person to shoot someone or stab them? Does it take a tough person to do a drive-by shooting and injure innocent people? A while back, roughly one year ago, there was a drive-by shooting in Dorchester, MA. The car fired off some shots and who was hit but a little girl playing on the deck of her third floor apartment. She was seriously injured. If I remember correctly, she was paralyzed from the neck down. I think she was two years old at the time. The shooting happened late at night, when the girl should have been sleeping, but nobody should have their life ruined like that.

The person who fired these shots was trying to hit and injure or possibly kill another person. Well, someone was seriously injured alright but it wasn't the intended target, it was a little girl who will never have a chance at a normal life now.

Could there be a more cowardly act out there than to injure an innocent child. I bet this 'tough' gang member has no remorse for what happened. Oh well, big deal. I think part of the reason this kind of violence continues to escalate is because of the relaxed laws set by our government. We continue to make it easier and easier for criminals to be criminals. We make excuses for them. We allow them to get off from some crimes because they are first time offenses. We allow them out of jail on 'good behavior'. We do nothing to better these people while in prison to prevent them from committing more crimes when they get out.

Our Congress would much rather pass laws that give the Democratic and Republican parties tax money to put toward their Presidential campaigns every four years instead of putting that money toward building more prisons or hiring more police. This just goes to prove the politicians and 'leaders' of our country are more concerned with their own careers and places in history, they'd rather have people dying in the streets of this country as long as they have our money to spend on their campaigns. After all, why would they care about the violence? They, meaning Congress, the President and Vice President, all have personal bodyguards. The President has his own security force to protect him and his family. Each member of Congress has assigned Secret Service protection as well.

It all makes sense when you really think about it. We, the voters, elect these people to office so they can 'serve' us in the public sector and they live better lives than the people that vote them in. They live lives of prestige, safety, power, and special rules. For example, just because you are a U.S. Congressman and your name is Patrick Kennedy you get to drink and drive and be taken away from the scene and driven home by the police. The next day after you have sobered up you get to be the hero and say you will cooperate with any investigation the authorities want to conduct. By no means am I suggesting all drunk drivers should have this privilege but the 'leaders' of our country should be held to the same laws we are.

The next time you see one of these disgusting stories on the news please think about how you will cast your next vote in a major election. Please remember how safely our leaders get to travel around while we have to live in fear that we could be shot, our kids could be molested, etc' Please also remember that there is a good chance that the criminals that commit these horrible crimes will most likely spend minimal time in jail. Think about all the drunk drivers that have multiple repeat offenses that have just killed a mother, father, or young child.

I am not saying the individual should not accept responsibility for their actions and that all the blame should be placed on the government either. But, what is the motivation for the criminal to behave properly when all he/she will get is a slap on the wrist? Why should they behave when they know they will probably live a better quality life inside the prison than they do at home, unless they are in Joe Arpaio's prison that is. We need to make a change and since the politicians aren't doing it for us we need to change who we bring into office. Then maybe our best interests will be their new focus.