Another shooting at an American High School. Looking back over my work, I realized that the first time I wrote on this subject was back in 2000, when a kindergartner brought a gun to school to ‘play’ with, and accidentally killed a classmate. If memory serves, I ended that piece with the suggestion that readers should “go home and hug their children”.
Eighteen years after that first piece, my children have grown info the fine young adults they are today, but the world around us has grown more dangerous. And now, as it really was then, hugs aren’t enough to comfort the loss we should all feel over this tragedy. It’s the same pattern, over and over again; disturbed or mentally ill individual finally breaks and goes on a killing spree. The first I remember happened at a McDonald’s in California in the mid eighties. The nation was shocked that anyone could do such a thing. Now, after more (peacetime) mass shootings than any other country in the world, what have we changed? Laws have been tweaked here and there, but that certainly hasn’t solved the problem. And as a society, more and more people are getting lost in a system that prefers to incarcerate rather than help, and too often the needed help comes either too late, or not at all.
Some say we need tighter gun laws. Others say it’s a mental health issue.
And listening to both sides, they both seem right. Until I realized that neither of those actually addresses the problem.
As with all things, the problems comes from different places for different people. Some are mentally ill; why are they untreated? Some are criminals; changing the laws on gun ownership means nothing to those who already break the law as a lifestyle. And some, like the shooter Dylan Roof in Charleston, are just terrorist – racist fools who think they are going to help start a race war.
Sadly, I’m sure there are variants of these types that we haven’t seen yet. And unless we act, we most certainly will see more of the above, and worse.
In a country that prides itself on freedom, you cannot legislate people into better behavior, broader worldviews, or mental health. Truly, if we are really going to be free, then even these people have to have the freedom to take these actions. But just because you ‘can do a thing, does not mean you *must* do a thing’, and having the freedom to murder does not mean you have to do so. We need to find out ‘why’ these murderers have made this choice, and help build a country where even the bigots know that murder is not a path to choose – a country the mentally unstable or ill get much needed treatment, and help to get their lives on track. And, dare I say, a country where a gun fanatic can own as many firearms as he or she likes, without fear of judgement.
We need to meet the needs of the people in our society, not only through Governance, but through enacting Social change. And that starts with each of us, acting each day to help.
If one school shooting doesn’t alarm and horrify you, you may very well be part of the problem. If dozens over half as many years doesn’t scare the hell out of you – you *are* the problem.
