making a difference. Justin Knabb's blog

Annie get your gun?

So... why not divulge my thoughts on gun rights?

Let's get started.  I think guns are absolutely ridiculous. 

Aside from sporting rifles for trap shooting, I think guns are insanely wrong.  And unless the Taliban one day, miraculously, conquers our coastlines and comes running towards my home and my family, I plan to never even consider owning or using a gun.

Guns are meant to kill people.  I'll say it again, guns are meant to KILL people.  I see absolutely no intrinsic good in possessing a device designed for the sole purpose of killing another human being.  Many argue that they are meant to protect people, but if presented with life-threatening situations, well, we can always resort to metal baseball bats or good old bare-knuckled fists.  At least these "weapons" were created for better uses.

There you have it.  My frank opinion on guns.  If that really ticks anyone off, then I can certainly live with that.  At least I can sleep well at night knowing that I'll go through my life never being presented with the chance to shoot anybody.

The United States Supreme Court ruled against a current ban on handguns in Washington, D.C. just days ago.  I don't understand the gun culture of our country anymore (actually I never did).  Conservatives are celebrating the ruling like the Pope just came to town, and President Bush is even applauding the ruling stating that it's wonderful that the justices stood up for the "sacredness" of gun rights.

Sacredness?  Guns kill people, Mr. Bush.  How could you possibly use the word "sacred" and "gun" in the same sentence?

Gun rights were certainly an important step towards establishing and preserving freedom in our great country... 250 years ago.  However, I really believe our 2nd Amendment is outdated.  As recorded on our Bill of Rights, the 2nd Amendment reads as such:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

What really bothers me is the operative word "necessary," closely followed by the specific phrase, "A well regulated Militia."  I mean, come on... in 2008, with a strong state-run military and peace here on our homeland, I absolutely do not think guns are necessary to preserve the security of a free state.  Furthermore, do the millions of gunholders in the United States really make up any form of "well regulated militias?"

Give me a break.  Why are we fooling ourselves by following this archaic language word-for-word?  Even the best written and thought-out statues need to be updated.  Even the Bible shouldn't be read 100% literally like this. 

Where's our common sense?  Why the urgent and necessary need to keep and bear arms?   Can we please amend this one day soon?  I think times have changed since 1776.

And now, with the NRA jubilant and excited to fight for further relaxation of handgun bans across the country, including my old city, San Francisco, we can and should expect all hell to break loose.  In the words of Washington, D.C.'s mayor: "I can promise you that Washington will certainly be less safe because of this ruling."  The argument that gun advocates make about guns making us safe is such bullshit.  That's like saying that wars are meant to put an end to all wars.  That's like saying that legalizing marijuana cuts down on crime and enhances personal freedom.  These are very, very lousy examples of ends justifying the means.

When I speak out against gun rights to my gun-advocate friends, they often respond with: "Well, Justin, what if someone robbed your house and threatened to hold your family at gunpoint?  Shouldn't you have the right to bear arms and defend yourself?"

Valid point.  A handgun might just be justified in such an instance.  But my response is and continues to be: "What are the chances of that happening?"

There is a lot of hate, violence and greed in our world and there always will be.  But I've been alive for nearly 26 years now, which equates to a bit less than 9,500 days.  Not one minute in one of those days have I ever felt threatened enough to desire a gun.  Just the same, I think I can go 9,500 more days and 20,000+ days beyond that without needing a gun either. 

But what if...

What if someone does rob my home one day and threatens my family at gunpoint?  I can hope for-- perhaps one final time-- an all-loving and merciful God waiting on the other side.  I can hope for a streak of conscience to somehow hit our attacker.  But there are two thing I would be certain about.  One is that I will clench my fists and fight 'till the death, and the other is that at least those left behind might know of a Justin Knabb that was a man of peace -- true to his word and morals.

I just fail to understand why so many people in our country wouldn't feel the same way.  Why do they put so much energy and emotion into securing their right to bear arms?  Shouldn't we be more focused on solving and preventing the causes of violence rather than continuing to patch these problems up with our selfish need for more guns?

What if our friends running the NRA used this energy to help feed the millions of hungry people in Africa instead?  What if they used their abundant funds to build up scholarships so kids can get off the streets and get college educations instead?  What if they encouraged people to recycle their no-good guns and build steel monuments of peace and reconciliation?

Unfortunately, these advocates are not part of any solution for peace and unity at all.  I feel that guns represent all that is wrong with our country and unfortunate still, the NRA only seems to be growing in strength.  Sure, people that want guns will always be able to acquire guns, whether they are readily available or restricted to black market trade.  But we must not overlook the countless, senseless deaths from gun accidents and violence each year.  We must offer and maintain incentives for putting our guns down and promoting peace and unity.

New York Times: Gun laws and crime - a complex relationship

Hello from The Bahamas

It's been a while since my last post, I know.  A lot of living to do; I haven't made time to write, which I should.

Anyway, here I sit in our timeshare at the world-renowned Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, just off the coast of Nassau, New Providence in The Bahamas.  I am so fortunate to be here, I really am.

The trip has been wonderful so far.  We arrived on Saturday, and it's been pleasantly slow and relaxing.  I'm the type of person-- and traveler-- who wants to be moving all the time.  Everyday in Rio just a month ago, for example, was go-go-go... from one monument to the next, followed up with a football playoff game at the Maracana with 85,000 other adrenaline-crazed lunatics.

But this type of holiday is different.  A lot of sleep (necessary in part, thanks to the strep throat I developed when we first arrived).  A lot of family time.  A lot of just lounging poolside and drinking Bahama Mama's, Kalik beers, and munching conch fritters.  It's all been very nice.

Spending this time with family is a real joy.  I've enjoyed the time spent with my younger brother especially.  Him and I are on the run all the time back home; we barely have quality time in each other's company.  But here we've gone snorkeling, shared drinks (nice, because the drinking age here is 18), hung out beachside and a lot more.  Unfortunately he has to leave for home early tomorrow in order to catch his college orientation at Seton Hall.

You know, I keep thinking back to the letter that I wrote Tyler on his graduation just a few weeks ago... especially amidst the extreme excess down here.  Part of me wishes I could bottle this experience up and share it with others who will never make it to Atlantis or even out of their home country.  Part of me just wonders how I made it here, how I was born to such a generous, loving father who wants to share these moments together as a family.

Again, I'm just thankful.  That'll have to do for now.

Letter to my younger brother, Tyler, on his high school graduation

Dear Tyler,

Congratulations… you’ve made it!! You are now a high school   graduate and a young man; yet a still-hungry individual looking out at the open road. And, in just a few weeks now, you will officially be a freshman at an American university.

Think about all this for a second. Savor it, cherish it, embrace it, celebrate it, and above all, respect this fact… again, you will be attending an American university. You are attending not just any university but a great university among the greatest of nations on our planet. This simple fact instantly puts you among the world’s most elite of individuals. That’s right, before you even lace up your sneakers for that first 7am walk to class and open up a textbook, you are already sitting on top of the world.

Congratulations to you, Tyler. Partly through your intellectual perspiration and inspiration, you have earned this status. For all you have achieved, we are so, so proud of you, just as you should be proud of yourself. Our mere geography on the planet, however, takes care of the rest of this equation. This was beyond your control; rather, this was beyond all of our control. The fact is this: Your chance to walk across that stage tonight and accept your diploma is an awe-inspiring gift.

Just in achieving this seemingly small milestone—earning a high school diploma—you already have a head-start over much of the world. As you can see from my attachment to this letter, if the world were reduced to just 100 people, the gravity of tonight’s accomplishment can be put in better perspective. So, where do you, Tyler Knabb, fit in? You will soon fit in among the mere 1% of the entire planet that will one day boast a college education. You are now among the mere 1% that even possesses their own computer. And, most consequently, you are among the fortunate 75% that has a decent supply of food and shelter and 83% that has clean drinking water to survive.

A grim reality, perhaps, but it is a reality nonetheless. My message is this, Tyler: You are a powerful being in this world. Your basic human needs are met, you have the tools provided for you and a loving family at your back. Truly, virtually little holds you from achieving your dreams. And as Walt Disney proclaimed as he drew his now-famous mouse and built his now-celebrated castle, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

One of the most important realities I learned on my high school graduation day, seven years ago, was the fact that we cannot, and will not, achieve our success alone. As Mr. Fleck mentioned at baccalaureate last night, “No man is an island.” Or in the words of Sir Isaac Newton, “If I have seen farther it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” You and I are blessed to not only stand on the shoulders of some very wonderful people involved in our lives—Dad, Mom, our grandparents, Fay, our mentors, etc.—but some other very important people whom today echo solely in the legacies they leave behind. These include, for example, the founding fathers of our great nation, the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom, and the political, business, and community leaders who have created and shaped this world in which we now flourish.

On this great night, as you walk across that stage and accept your diploma, you accept a simple document that recognizes the great things you’ve done. Yet, more so, your diploma is a testament to the path that others have laid before you. Indeed, we have been given more than we will ever know. And along with this gift comes great responsibility. As the saying goes, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”

Much should be expected from you and of you on this new journey on which you’re about to embark. But fortunately, the journey is just beginning. And what a great journey it can be, if you so choose. Life is an empty book, and it awaits the words and moments and contributions that only you can fill in its pages. Tyler, take all that you’ve learned and begin to write an epic book!! Take these gifts and pay them forward. Take this opportunity to attend an American university and work tirelessly to make this world a better place. Take these treasures and increase them ten-, twenty-fold. May you soon provide heartily for yourself, your family, your dreams, and for the dreams of others.

May you continue to befriend so many with your hearty laugh and your warm smile. May you continue to stay fit and healthy and run into the fading beams of many more sunsets. May you continue to use your gifts to help others in need, whether a child trying to overcome cancer or simply find a glass of clean drinking water. May your heart continue to fill with love and emit even more love in return. May your hands overflow with generosity and charity towards others. May your soul never cease to thirst for meaning and understanding, and grow ever closer to appreciating our God, the only One who could bestow us with such a beautiful world. May you always keep the Golden Rule close to your heart, and of course… may you always hold dear the mantra that our beloved mother left with us before her passing day, that...

“Our purpose on this earth is to love and to help each other.”

It doesn’t get any more simple or true than that. As you graciously accept your diploma tonight, I know you’ll be looking up to the sky and thinking of her with a heavy heart. Yet, remember, it’s on giants’ shoulders that we stand and on hers we look out at the world with an even grander view. Soak in that view, from both past and present. But, more importantly, prepare for that view ahead. There are such great times in store for you, Tyler, and I am so proud and happy and thankful to be part of the ceremony to mark this wondrous occasion today.

With much love always, your brother and friend,

Justin

Soaking in this last month

I heard a wise entrepreneur say last January that success should not be ultimately judged by what one earns or accumulates or even accomplishes.  Success, he said, is based on what you're actually doing, day-in and day-out.

In that case, I guess I can say I've been pretty successful lately.

Fortunately, I've done a lot of cool stuff this past month.  I've cheered on my younger brother as he ran for the gold in the 4x800 relay at our county championship meet.  I've slowly but surely been making more of an impact in our family business.  I've been exercising almost every day, not to mention many memorable runs around the beautiful Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro with the Cristo Redentor looking down from Corcovado mountain.  I've been savoring many Brazilian churrascos, many Irish Car Bombs with good friends, and many late nights of euphoric dancing.

There have been many great moments that I'll remember forever.

Life, after all, is a bunch of moments.  They are good and bad and neutral, all bottled up and later regurgitated as experiences and stories to reflect on.  Life is a bunch of people, joining together to share their experiences and wisdom, their drinks and their smiles.  Life is a game that is unique for each us... in setting goals, only we can see them through.

Certainly the crystalline moment that will define this past month, amongst all the other months of my life, was that moment when I climbed Corcovado for the first time.  Ever since seeing the Christ statue as a kid, with His arms spanning ever so wide, literally welcoming and embracing and blessing the spectacular city of Rio de Janeiro... I just knew I had to get there one day.

And fortunately I did.

Looking up at that monument -- and in the process, seeing my second of the new seven wonders of the world (first being the Colosseum in Rome) -- and then looking out over Rio, I just couldn't contain the tears from my eyes.  That was a dream realized, a panorama that once took my breath away even in pictures... yet the views that day were purely mine. 

Magazine photos leave out the countless smiles and hugs and  raw emotion that other tourists/pilgrims share when experiencing such a landmark for the first time.  Photobooks just can't provide the adrenaline that fills your system and the goosebumps that line your spine.

For all reasons completely personal to me, that moment at The Christ was all of that... raw and jubilant and full of adrenaline. 

I just thank God for that particular moment and all the moments from this past month.  The older I'm getting, the more I'm trying to slow down, to take things in and just "be."  With Tyler's high school graduation this weekend, a friend's priestly ordination in NYC next weekend, a family trip to the Bahamas the week after, and my good friend's wedding the week after that.......

it appears there will be many more great moments ahead to enjoy and bottle up too :-)