The car engines kept exploding; in fact they were killing people.

While the engine manufacturers recognized that an engine was involved, they insisted the engines were not relevant to the problem.

So the companies making car doors reinforced their product, providing some protection if the engines exploded, which they continued to do. The stronger doors did not work.

Maybe if the tires were better, fatalities would be less. The newly fabricated tires had no impact.

Are the people who sell engines duly registered with the proper authorities. Not all, but a much higher percentage than before. The engines kept exploding anyway.

To be fair, there were a few people who ventured the opinion that the engines might be key to the problem.  Their voices were somewhat on the quiet side as apparently to be critical of the engines was construed as being anti-science.

Driving lessons were made more rigorous, a good idea for sure given the rate of auto accidents.

And drivers were instructed to be more consistent on the octane of the gasoline they used.

Alas, the engines refused to stay unexploded.

Agreement was finally reached: make the steel stronger, and the windows, and the seat cushions. Require the brake to be depressed in order to press the Start button to turn on the car.

I’ll be darned if the engines did not keep exploding.

A group was formed, Victims of Exploding Engines. It traveled the country with its message of engine safety. Now a lot of people own cars obviously, which led to that persistent attitude people have about everything from airplane crashes to being robbed at the supermarket – it won’t happen to me. “So sorry about the demise of people you loved but I have other issues that I need to deal with, like why is my Amazon package not arriving on time.”

The engines just kept exploding, even when the federal government department in charge of auto safety issued a warning to all drivers.

FINALLY, FORMERLY QUIET VOICES BECAME LOUDER, RISING TO A CRESCENDO.

THEY SCREAMED “IT’S ABOUT THE ******* ENGINE!”

 **

Here is a partial list of the country’s response to mass school shootings:

Armed teachers … Bulletproof backpacks … Survivor manuals … Red Flag committees … Redesigned schools … More security officers at schools … Increased number of regulated gun dealers … Greater awareness of 3-D printed guns … Legal consequences for parents … Better reporting of bullying … More attention to the needs of understaffed rural schools … Increased number of relevant non-profit organizations … Greater frequency of op ed essays in leading publications … Increased scrutiny of the NRA’s governance structure … Intensive reading of the Constitution … Publicized comparisons of American shooting statistics with those of peers … Increased awareness that police departments need more training.

NEWSFLASH: IT’S ABOUT THE ******* GUNS!