Gun toting drunk drivers killing congresman

How can I be so right on every single issue with so many people having divergent views about basic topics?  It truly boggles my mind to see the almost inherent views of some diametrically opposed to those of others.  It can’t be a simple fact of ignorance, there are very smart and dedicated individuals who think differently than I, so obliviousness can’t be the answer.  Perhaps it’s a level of selfishness, minds that think differently must be more selfish causing them to think arrantly about the basic themes that continually divide and separate us from each other.  No, that can’t be it either; there are many, most perhaps, which really believe and pursue and follow their beliefs with honest intent.  

I may think I’m right and I may be able to argue my point but no level of argument will sway the believing mind until there is a more substantial belief to take its place.  It’s that alternate belief that I’m trying to understand, not to change my views, remember I’m right most of the time, but I truly want to be able to say I understand how you believe what you believe.

Let’s start with a simple one, let’s discuss the ideas of Abortion.  My position is fairly simple but I find that position divergent in many ways from others who think differently.  I believe that women should be able to choose but that choice should be made prior to getting pregnant.  Once a women and Man get pregnant they have made their choice and the consequences of either that lustful or loving act must be dealt with in light of the life within.  There are exception like in rape and incest where the female should be able to choose after getting pregnant but for most casual encounters of lover’s interludes the choice of pregnancy should not be made after the sexual act, it should be made before with the understanding that “things” happen.  Is unprotected or unplanned sex that important that a simple choice cannot be made prior to?

Tell me where I’m wrong.  Show me how my logic is flawed and how making a simple choice before sex is not the better way, especially in view of the psychological trauma of an abortion on the female, the medical problems, not to mention the trauma on the fetus and the over 1 million abortions per year.  All a couple has to do is make a simple choice prior to hot and steamy sex, a simple choice now or a life time of regret or consequence.

The next one is perhaps a bit more difficult especially sense it’s been in the news recently, the right to bare and own firearms.  This is more difficult because there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground, no obvious median to work towards; the galvanization of this issue is acute and brutal. 

Gun violence seems to be rampant and if you believe the news it’s occurring on every street corner, in every city and by everyone, but the reality is that violent crime with guns accounts for less than 1/3 of all crimes.   That means that more than 2/3 (for those who need the opposite view) of all violent crime does not use a gun of any kind, so why are we so focused in on the use of guns?
 
The National Crime Victimization Survey:

• An offender was armed with a gun, knife, or other object used as a weapon in an estimated 22% of all incidents of violent crime.
• Offenders used firearms to commit 8% of violent crime incidents in 2009.
• Robberies (47%) were the most likely crime to involve an armed offender.
• Firearms (28%) were the most common weapons used in robberies.
• Most rapes and assaults did not involve the use of a weapon.  
• From 1993-1997, of serious nonfatal violent victimization, 28% were committed with a firearm, 4% were committed with a firearm and resulted in injury, and less than 1% resulted in gunshot wounds.

Why do we have gun free zones, mostly in education, but in the news there is nothing gun free about those zones, they invite the crazy, illegal gun users offering an open invitation to massacre? We protect our banks with guns, we protect jewelry stores with gun, and we protect our leaders but not our children.  Do we give less value to our children than we do to our savings or congressman?

Drunk drivers kill an estimated 12,000 innocent people per year.  Are we prepared to outlaw cars?  Tell me where I’m wrong, tell me your point of view but use logic in your responses. I don’t want to hear drawn out platitudes and oft repeated sound bites I want a serious discussion of why our opinions are so divergent. 

I truly want to learn and can be swayed.  One example of me changing my mind is the idea of fracking (this is not a curse word) for oil.  I was previously all in for new oil deposits but recently learned that the process of fracking takes inordinate amounts of fresh water, and the results may not be balanced with our needs for oil.

I truly want to know why we can’t meld our minds toward workable solutions that work for everyone.  I may think I’m right most of the time but the reality is that were all learning all the time, I won’t stop learning, lets learn together.