Feelings make terrible public policy.
The leaders in the United States, and the 50 states, used to know that.
Social media is operating on feelings after the weekend shootings in El Paso and Dayton. And, yes, these are terrible tragedies that hurt us as a nation.
But the 30 people who died in the two shootings are not the only people to die in the U.S. Are the victims in El Paso more important than the two men shot and killed in Milwaukee on Sunday? Are the victims in Dayton more tragic than the 55 people shot in Chicago over the weekend?
Neil deGrasse Tyson, America's favorite space nerd, tried to make the same point on Sunday.
But people on Twitter (and their feelings) shot him down.
We can mourn and we can remember, but we need to be careful when we allow our feelings to drive us toward new laws and new polices that we may not like once this tragedy is a bit further behind us.
Listen to "Neil De Grasse Tyson is right" on Spreaker.
Photo Credit: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Twitter