Everyday Canvas

Gun Control, Pranks, Favorite Book

Prompt: What classic book would you love to have reviewed when it was first published? Why?

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Possibly, The Idiot by Dostoyevsky, as it is my favorite book of all time, which would make me a medical miracle for having lived since the mid-nineteenth century, as that book was first published in 1868-1869. According to Wikipedia, its publican began as a serial in a Russian journal, The Russian Messenger.

Why? The Idiot, aka Prince Myshkin is a fool but a perfect person. It is no wonder that some reviewers think of him as the likeness of a Christ figure.

Dostoyevsky’s idea of creating this character, in his own words, was "to depict a completely beautiful human being." The plot is secondary in this book, but the character’s passionate intensity and the idea of his making other characters react in original ways impressed me a lot. In addition, the prince has a serious health problem, epilepsy, just like the author. There are also interesting and varied themes inside the story, like the negative or sometimes positive influences of religion, spiritual thirst, death, love, attachments, etc.

The amazing fact is that the author’s handling such a good character is a feat in itself. Almost all plots depend on conflict due to a character needs, shortcomings, or passions. Such a splendid character as the protagonist has to become a problem. That may be why at the end, Prince Myshkin turns mad, after turning everyone else’s lives upside down and causing havoc with his goodness.

All this makes me wonder. If I were the first to review this book at its first publishing, would I see what I see today or is some of this coming from the views of my lit teachers since my favorite teacher had adored The Idiot?

Prompt: Is April Fools' Day really just for kids? What are some of the best pranks you've played or had played on you?

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I never liked pranks. Harmless joking, yes. Pranks no. Pranks are usually practical jokes taken to extremes. There are no best pranks.

When I was a child, I would hide under tables and behind doors and suddenly come out screaming ‘boo’ and startling people. I am sorry, I did that to my loved ones. Those were terrible actions and could have caused someone to have a heart attack. I am not proud of them.

Prompt: "The Vermont bill raises the age for gun purchases to 21 and expands background checks for private gun sales. It also bans magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for pistols as well as rapid-fire devices known as bump stocks."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/in-gun-friendly-vermont-lawmakers-pass-firearm...
Do you agree or disagree with the bill? Do you think it will make a difference?

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I certainly do agree. It is a good move and an assault weapons ban has to work, at least partly. Besides, I don’t think the second amendment directly points to today’s weapons. If it did, what would stop every single one of us from getting an atomic bomb?

It is also true that killings can happen without the use of firearms. Just think what boxcutters were able to do on 9/11! We should be vigilant all the time at every place for just about anything that can possibly go wrong. Terrorism, school shootings, and other mass killings are big problems, and we need to address them from every angle.

In addition, all mental health problems can be handled better. I always thought that closing the state mental health facilities during the early 1980s and letting the patients out on the streets showed a lack of judgment. Yes, there was an over-reliance on drug treatments in those hospitals, but that could have been adjusted and handled better. Wouldn’t we be less traumatized if the killer was over-drugged instead of committing the latest school killing that took the lives of 17 kids?

As the last word, if we took our problems as our problems and not as something related to partisan politics, maybe we can prevent at least most of the unnecessary heartaches that affect us all.