At least 12 people are dead and another 38 wounded, one three months old, and at the hands of a young American gunman.    It is not, police say, a terrorist attack, by which they mean it wasn’t committed by a Moslem (I would  call it a terrorist attack, but the media have trained us to connect “terrorism” and Moslem” together in one easy, single thought process).

Along with all the other incidents that occur at roughly 6 month intervals, this will be shrugged off.  The National Rifle Association will call for three month old babies to be fully armed with loaded revolvers, but apart from that sales of guns will climb even further, and we can attend movies in peaceful frames of mind, knowing that most of the audience have loaded guns in their pockets as they watch yet another violent movie, where every shooter gets his man and there is no blood on the floor and no distressing aftermath.

Sick world.  Sometimes, for all that it was uncomfortable and life short, I wish I could have lived in the time of Epicurus.  At least there were philosophers around, capable of logical thought, even if you couldn’t understand them.