Shootings aren’t a sign America is ‘broken’. It’s working exactly as intended

‘This Friday, Trump is scheduled to speak at the annual NRA convention in Houston – less than 300 miles from Uvalde.’ Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

After the horrific mass murders in Buffalo and Uvalde, Americans are hearing a familiar chorus emanating from the cable networks. Every host and guest seems shocked. They search for the right words.

Eventually, their message becomes almost universal: Something is horribly broken in a country that allows troubled young men to arm themselves to the teeth and kill innocent people – especially young children. Social media explodes, expressing a version of the shock that the first lady, Jill Biden, expressed after the murders in Uvalde – “Stunned. Angry. Heartbroken.”