Well, I don't consider myself a Jesse Jackson type liberal. And I sure as s___t ain't a Pat Robertson type conservative. But, having lived overseas, in both first-world AND third-world countries, I do feel lucky to be a US citizen. One thing though: while overseas, whether in first- or third-world countries, I never saw any local headlines about "drive by shootings," "carjackings at gunpoint," "school shootings," ect. I would only hear about that via satellite beamed from the U.S. My friends from Australia would occasionaly get in barfights, but it was all John Wayne style brawl. My Aussie friends say that down under, if a guy has to carry a gun around all the time, then he must be making up for his little dick.
Again, I don't have all the answers. I grew up out on the open prairie, and had a .22 when I was 12 years old. The thought of shooting anything other than a rabid racoon never really crossed my mind. School shootings hadn't been invented yet. Somewhere between then and now we (the U.S.A.) got off course. I think we can get back on track. I try not to be a pessimest, but it is weird being in a poor neighborhood in say, Mexico, and having only to worry about drunken pickpockets or getting run over by VW taxicabs. Food for thought.