Non-judicial executions in the United States date back to Columbus. His logbook reports finding friendly and generous people, but “With fifty armed men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” The Indians’ subsequent revolt earned them the label “bloodthirsty savages” to rationalize, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian.” After WWII, globalization slaughtered three million Vietnamese to execute any dissidents labeled “Charlie.” Today, drones execute goat-herders with towels on their heads who hold sovereignty more important than the dollar, dubbing them “terrorists.” Many Americans want to convert the entire Middle East to “a parking lot.” Some want to execute all blacks, all Jews or all whites.

Non-judicial executions form an integral part of our entertainment culture. Liam Neeson recently played a hit-man whose son was in danger of being hit, so he began executing dozens of other hit-men. We rationalize by ignoring that the executed were also somebody’s sons. To boot, children see 16,000 murders by age 18 and we revel in the mass executions of the “Walking Dead.”

So why are Americans so surprised when one of us twists logic to justify his own personal non-judicial execution, such as Columbine, Charleston and now Umpqua?

The president suggests banning hand guns to stop personal non-judicial executions. How about banning all weapons of execution, including drones and nuclear bombs? Perhaps if the leadership ethic would cease non-judicial executions, the rest of our mentally unstable cowards would follow suit.

I’ll continue to move this article up to the top of the list each time there’s a mass killing in the United States, regardless of the political blather or new unenforceable laws that would create yet another illegal cash cow. The root lies in, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Um… MY happiness. I’m not particularly concerned about yours.”

Peru’s motto dates back to the ancient Incas: Ama sua, ama quella, ama llulla. “Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t seek vainglory.” Image that being the mantra in the Boardrooms and the Beltway! Perhaps then we could have the America we say we have.

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