Common Ground

It's hard to rate this book on its merits alone because I agreed so strongly with its point, which is that common ground has to and can be found on the issue of resolving gun violence in America without sacrificing the Second Amendment rights that many hold so dear. I shall endeavor, however, first to discuss its merits and why I rated them so highly, then the point of the book itself.

Of the over 250 books written on the subject of guns and gun violence in America, this is one of the few I've found that looks at it from all sides, not just those of gun-rights advocates or violence-ending advocates. This, in and of itself, surprises me, as none of the gun-rights advocates I've spoken to in real life openly expressed a desire for the violence and mass shootings to continue, at least as part of any organized movement, and many of the violence-ending advocates I know realize that banning all guns outright is not a realistic solution. Not only is this book relatively rare, then, by virtue of that fact, but also by virtue of the eloquence, knowledge, and sensitivity with which the author approaches the topic.

Indeed, where many other books on gun violence in America have started with a recap of our nation's history with guns and/or a summary of the arguments of the two sides of the debate, Gaffney starts his book with a plea for readers to use this book as a basis for group discussion. He even provides specific suggestions for doing so: "The temptation to lead others to your understanding or position seems especially strong when talking about guns and gun violence. This is not a debate you can win by employing what you think is a rational argument. There has to be an understanding among members of the group that no one will be pressured. Everyone is responsible for himself or herself, and everyone is responsible to each other."

Furthermore, he says: "Being attentive while others are speaking and thoughtful in our own speaking is hard with a topic as volatile as guns. We have to work at releasing our preconceptions and relaxing our mood. When we finally do speak, we can speak from our own experience. It is so important that we each speak from our own core, our own feelings."

This isn't to say that Gaffney ignores the fundamentals of either side of the argument, but he does explore them from particular peoples' points of view. "I do not dwell on statistics or numbers related to gun violence," he says. "Those numbers do not speak to life. People and their stories speak to life. That is why I want to hear people tell their stories. Even around instruments of death, their stories have life. Each number represents a life, and that life is lost, devalued, and made insignificant in the great sea of numbers of individuals affected by gun violence. I think we need to move past the numbers and tell the stories."

So what does that common ground look like, according to Gaffney? It does not start with any particular policy change, at least not any that he discusses in this book. It starts with people making up their minds to "talk across [their own] aisles," before they expect their government to do so. It starts with people actively seeking common ground around this topic in their families, neighborhoods, cities, and up from there.

Because I agree so wholeheartedly with this argument, I find it impossible to review the book on its merits alone, though it is sound in structure, eloquent in voice (as mentioned), and timely. I answered the questions it asked of me, and am endeavoring to pursue these hard conversations with my family members and neighbors, and even my online "friends," because we all know that something HAS to be done. I encourage every other American within the sound of my voice to read Common Ground too, and actively seek common ground on this all-important topic.