Solving America’s gun problem starts with us
I agree with the editorial printed on Sunday, August 11, about guns being only part of the problem with mass shooting events. How can someone get so sick and kill so many innocent people? With a background in law enforcement, I have given it much thought. Most events occur within a context, and the context is a society deluged with violence from many directions. As a child, I watched movies of cowboys and native Americans killing each other. Then Hollywood produced gangster movies, getting more violent each year.
Is this what people want? Or is it being thrust upon us by some pernicious source?
The larger context is a Federal government invading countries that did not hurt us, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The message is that violence is a way to solve problems. (Does anyone doubt these invasions are disasters in loss of life and treasure?) Television is so full of violence, I frequently turn it off.
Closer to home, my young grandson was playing a violent video game. He said he “killed” 28 guys in the video game of course. I said wouldn’t you rather be remembered for saving 28 lives?
Perhaps a stable person can be exposed to all this cruelty and not be violently inclined. But if someone is in unhealthy circumstances or on the edge, maybe this exposure to mayhem will set him over the edge, leading to multiple homicides. I do not say that I have a solution. Perhaps as a country we should think twice before invading a remote fourth rate country, or at least have an exit strategy.
Should parents prevent their children from playing these hideous games? (personally I don’t think they should make them in the first place.) Should TV producers make higher quality programs? Maybe they don’t know how.
As you can see I have more questions than answers. Lets get a dialogue started. Did you know the murder rate in America is 34 per 100,000 souls? In Canada, the rate is 5 and in England it is 0.4.
Hamlet said something is rotten in Denmark. Well, I believe something is not right in America. I pray for solutions so that everybody’s grandchildren will have a safe country.
Join me.
John Cavanagh
Hopwood