I applaud the efforts to address violence as a health crisis. There has been a health crisis forever. Guns are symptomatic of the problems we endure as are mental health problems. How many mental health problems are made by man himself? We will not eliminate violence but we can at least try. However, new laws will not be what is successful. We don't listen to the 10 Commandments inspired by God. If we refuse to follow them, yet believe there is a God, then we are in the "pathetic" range of thinking that man-made laws will be followed.
Studies have been completed year after year yet the extremes still continue to happen. We do need to love, offer forgiveness, parent from day one, get rid of "I am okay. You are okay." attitude of life, hold people accountable, stop thinking that drugs do no harm, stop thinking that adultery and divorce are good for society, stop glorifying war, stop romanticizing the after effects of war and massacres, and respect life at all stages.
Violence takes hold when people will not get involved with their own families and communities. That being said, a parent who is involved with the whole community but not their own family is actually a detriment to society. One lone wolf on December 14 did more damage to people than a tornado that ripped apart an entire building on Christmas Day. Does one ever wonder how that can be?
Tornadoes don't take as many lives as one shooter does even when school is in session. Mother Nature is more forgiving than man. Her timing is not vengeful.
We don't rely on God but we certainly blame Him. How can we blame a God we do not believe in?
Public schools sing that "We've got the whole world in our hands." Is that working for us? If we have the whole world in our hands, we are not doing a good job of protecting it. Arming teachers in the classroom is a consideration? That does not give me comfort since we have had teachers assault their students as sexual predators. We have teachers who probably could not pass a drug test?
God sees the bigger picture and hands people a piece of the puzzle. Use it or bury it...the choice (because of free will) is in our hands. We do not "hold the entire world". Unless of course, the piece of the puzzle ripple effects across the whole world.
We praise the mental health of someone who makes gory movies. Tippy Hedren, at the age of 83, is finally telling what Alfred Hitchcock was really like. Genius can be used for good or evil. In cultures steeped with violence, we can see how genius is used. Did Einstein not think that the nuclear bomb would not be used to kill people? How many will be watching a television show which is described in the commercials as "delicious evil."
I grew up in a violent high school in the early 70's. I will never forget the day they yelled "Charge" in my cafeteria. No guns were used that day only bodies moving in riot formation.
Observe the signs early...but that means you would have to address evil. That can't be done without the help of God. I will take His Hand any day.
We should be having the conversation of prevention with people who didn't allow a violent event to happen..or who dealt realistically with the mentally ill. No one is immune so violence is all of our business. How ridiculous that we still continue to think that anyone is immune from the suffering in life. It is how we deal with the suffering that will save lives.
I was ahead of the curve in 1998 because I got a piece of the puzzle and I did not bury it. Thanks be to God who saw the bigger picture.
We just celebrated Christmas. Read the story of Jesus. His life made a difference. From the Cross, Jesus said "Don't weep for me, weep for your children." I do know what that means and am reminded of it at every massacre. So, I write and talk in memory of Jesus and the real life Shannon Wright, both were called teachers. Jesus was killed on the Cross, the tool of his day used to kill. Shannon Wright was killed by a bullet. She died so a child could live.
Security teams only know how to minimize the effects of violence or prevent further carnage. When we call in security experts we are way beyond prevention.
A church in Vineland, NJ was the scene of violence in the early morning hours after Christmas. From news media reports, the people at the church blamed it on the groups they rent to. Pontius Pilate was good at washing his hands too.
He still had blood on them. It seems hypocritical that a church would be the scene of violence. But, evil and hatred in the heart is the one striking out using people to be the messengers.
Our mental health crisis is based on hatred. The USCCB says we need to focus on gun control and better mental health services. With that focus, we are not at the prevention stage of life, we are already into intervention. Allow God to intervene in your life, then prevention will prevail.
Marian R. Carlino
December 27, 2012
edited january 6, 2013
