NYT's David Brooks 'willing to give up certain privacies' to have 'European style,' strict gun control in America for 'protecting the common good'

New York Times columnist David Brooks said he "would be willing to give up certain privacies" in order to have "European style," strict gun control in America for "protecting the common good."

Say what?

Brooks — who's spent much of his career as a political conservative, yet wrote last year that "to be a conservative today, you have to oppose much of what the Republican Party has come to stand for" — appeared Friday on "PBS NewsHour" and responded to William Brangham's question about why we have mass shootings, NewsBusters said.

"We have a lot of guns [in] this country, too many guns in this country, and too many unregulated guns in this country," Brooks replied, according to the outlet. "So I think that's the primary cause of why this happens in America more than other places."

Brangham also asked Brooks to reveal what he'd like to see President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats do before Republicans take a majority in the House of Representatives next year:

Brooks replied:

... we had some not insignificant gun legislation within the past couple years. And so that was a pleasant surprise. You know it would take — President Biden spoke about red-flagging, that you would find somebody you think is potentially dangerous, and we would be able to — authorities would be able to go in and take guns away.

That would take a gigantic culture shift in this country, a revamping of the way we think about privacy, a revamping of the way we think about the role government plays in protecting the common good. I think it'd be something I think would be good not only for — to head off shootings, but good to live in a society where we cared more intimately about each other.

And I would be willing to give up certain privacies for that to happen. But for many Americans, that would just be a massive cultural shift to regard community and regard our common good and, more frankly, in a European style. I think it would benefit our society in a whole range of areas, but it's hard to see that kind of culture change to a society that's been pretty individualistic for a long, long time.