Another tragedy and we still don’t get it! Immediately, we
jump to discussions of ineffective gun laws. Mental health is an issue.
Certainly, school security measures are critical so that staff and students
know exactly what to do during an attack; and they practice it often. Over
exposure of our children to violence is a valid and needed discussion. We even
discuss how schools should be more capable of spotting potentially violent
students (or staff).
In our emotional efforts to eliminate these violent
tragedies involving innocents, we must resist the urge to focus on only a few
of the multiple complex causes. We can try to eliminate all guns in the U.S. We
can initiate a “witch hunt” to track down and institutionalize anyone with a
mental problem or a predisposition to violence. We can campaign against violent
video games, movies and music. All aspects of this issue need thoughtful
attention and effective action. This is a complex problem and demands a complex
solution; one beginning as close to the source or key cause as possible. This is a social, moral and psychological
issue that requires solutions based on those disciplines. Political solutions,
no matter how well intended, will have no effect and may even make matters
worse.
That we don’t recognize a root cause of all of this painful
violence is no surprise. We have become a nation of people who largely do not
hold ourselves (or those close to us) responsible for our actions. There’s
always an external culprit or reason for the bad things we do. To oversimplify:
“I” didn’t drop the glass and break it, “it fell” or “you scared me.”
In my humble opinion, a
key to preventing many violent actions lies in the home and a functional, moral
family unit.
Who could better detect potential violence, aberrant
behavior, mental illness, depression, etc. than a parent or sibling?
Unfortunately, just too many family members don’t care, are in denial or aren’t
involved enough to detect the vital signs of tragedy in their own families. If
there were guns in the home, simply properly securing them from unauthorized
users would be a huge step forward.
Many parents have simply lost touch with the lives of their
children. Too many children are set adrift to deal with their problems alone or
within their (inexperienced and unqualified) peer groups. Parents have become non-participants
in their children’s lives so are not positioned to detect behavioral trends
that could lead to self-inflicted or external violence. Until we can rebuild the basic family unit, attempts to legislate
violence out of our lives are bound to fail.
Certainly, firearms availability is an important issue.
Vetting of potential gun purchasers must become more effective. The need for
automatic and assault weapons in homes must be carefully examined. Gun owners
clearly need more education about gun ownership and security. Even stricter
penalties for allowing weapons to fall into the hands of unauthorized users
need serious consideration.
