The world has been united in grief over the over America's latest mass shooting, but for those of us who are parents, the incident presents a special kind of terror. 

That's because being a parent means living with your heart outside of your body. And if your heart is suddenly ripped away, it's hard to imagine how life could go on.

My own kids now are 3.5 and 2. That means that for over four years since I first was pregnant with #1, my husband and I have been focused on keeping our kids alive and safe. 

We always remind them to hold hands with an adult when crossing the street. We always hold them close when entering crowded places. Meimei still explores the world by popping every shiny new object into her mouth, and that keeps us in a constant state of constant worry. 

Because, like all parents, we just want to know our kids are safe. We just want them to be OK.

Americans and their freedom to own guns

It's impossible to fully comprehend the overpowering grief of all those families who now will pass Christmas without their little angels. 

All those angels are gone forever because one woman exercised her American freedom to own guns. 

I myself am a lover of freedom. In fact, here in China, I have a best-selling book which encourages women to be free. All my speeches, all my media interviews, and 90% of my personal conversations here are about how we as women can be more free.

comprehend：理解，包含，由...组成            overpowering：无法抵抗的，压倒性的

The gruesome legacy of gun freedom

But sometimes, as in the case with guns, exercising your freedom means hurting or even killing other people, and that's when we need to take a very close look at the freedoms we demand. 

gruesome：可怕的，阴森的          legacy：遗赠，遗产

Shocking as the Connecticut incident was, last week's deaths comprise less than 1% of the gun deaths in America each year.  

Now you're a smart, worldly person. You read the Wall Street Journal. Right now, you may be wondering, given all the gun deaths each year, why guns are legal in America. Perhaps because of the wishes of a small but extremely powerful faction?

To the contrary, the American public is evenly divided over whether the country even needs gun control. , which for 20 years has tracked American attitudes toward gun ownership, 47% now say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 46% say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns.

Next you may be wondering why in the heck Americans so cherish their guns.

in the heck：究竟

The sacred legacy of gun culture

Gun ownership in America has a sacred legacy dating back 200 years to the days of the Wild West. 

According to romanticized national mythology, real men∫ were tough guys who wielded their guns to protect their women and children from the marauding Indians. 

mythology：神话，神话学，神话集             wield：行使，使用        marauding：抢劫的，劫掠的

The reality, of course, was that the Americans used their guns to murder and pillage the Native Americans and drive them from the land. But those inconvenient truths are glossed over in favor of the story of guns as the potent symbol and protector of 'us,'the Americans, the good-guys.

potent：有效的，强力的，有说服力的 

It's that proud self-image of male courage and self-reliance that still drives American gun culture today. 

But to today's gun aficionados, Native Americans are no longer a threat. The new bad-guys are the government. 

aficionado：狂热爱好者

Government as the new bad-guys 

Today when gun aficionados talk about 'freedom,' they're talking about one particular kind of freedom - freedom from government oppression. 

oppression：压抑，镇压，沉闷，苦恼  

To them, unrestricted access to guns is what protects individuals from the tyranny of government. And the only way to ensure freedom is to ensure that individuals can confront the government through their weapons. 

tyranny：暴政，专横，严酷 

As National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre says in his book Guns, Crimes and Freedom: 'The people have the right, must have the right, to take whatever measures necessary, including force, to abolish oppressive government.'

All this might be understandable if America actually had an oppressive government, but that's simply not the reality today. 

In America if you disagree with the government, you can speak out freely against them, or vote them out of office. You can even sue them. 

And America has an active media who love nothing more than to uncover abuse of power, so if you have a legitimate tip about governmental abuse, you'll always find an eager taker in the media.

legitimate：合法的，正当的，合理的

That's why it's so unconscionable that gun culture continues to thrive, despite the outrageous murder rate, despite the many peaceable means by which Americans can flex their power.

outrageous：粗暴的，可恶的，令人吃惊的        unconscionable：不合理的，昧着良心的，肆无忌惮的

Power and freedom both need constraint

I've been quoted in the media saying that a woman who's happy and successful is one who's willing to ignore the rules and freely make her own life choices.

But that does not mean I support an NRA-style viewpoint of all government, all authority as evils to be violently warded off. 

In a civilized society, freedom can not be unfettered. Political philosophers recognize that complete individual freedom would lead to anarchy. 

unfettered：无拘无束的，释放       anarchy：无政府状态，混乱，无秩序

And I can't think of any other individual freedom on this planet today which deserves restricting as much as does the freedom to own guns in America. 

American society is as violent as it is because of freedoms in excess. 

in excess：过度，过量的

Power and freedom both need constraint. And someone else's freedom to own guns is not more important than my freedom to send my kid to school and know that she will come home alive.

In America, self-described land of liberty, certain freedoms come with a price. The blood of innocents has become too high a price to pay to maintain gun freedom, that too-gruesome, too-sacred feature of American culture and life.