The problem with Sandy
Hook is more pervasive than the considerations of most people. The problem with
Sandy Hook is insidious and dark. The problem with Sandy Hook resides quite
unexpectedly in the collective hearts and minds of our 'great' society. The
word great appears in quotations because we as a society no longer do things
that 'great societies' do. Our fast food, reality T.V., drone assassinating
mentality numbs our minds to the point of non-questioning compliance. So
much so our hearts have become hardened against the cries for help from within
our borders and callous toward the cries of those beyond. Numb minds can no longer register
and contend with the constant assault against, and erosion of, our 'inalienable
rights' or manufacture and distribute the one thing that could actually help us
- love for one another. As we analyze the problem that is Sandy Hook we
are forced to analyze the problem with ourselves.
Guns, Gun Control and
Politicians
Politics, and by extension politicians, does not and cannot solve social ills. The best we can expect politically is a re-action to a problem instead of pro-action which is usually reserved for self-serving political ventures and not for social upliftment. Legislation does not solve social issues and more legislation will only fool us into thinking we are better off socially. Can more gun control legislation change a depraved heart or a demented mind? What more can words on paper do for the wounded and fractured psyches roaming our streets and terrorizing our playgrounds, schools, shopping malls, and churches?
The reason why more laws appeal to us so much is that the
problem is relegated to the politicians so they can 'do something' while we
excuse and exonerate ourselves from any responsibility. After all it is easier
to medicate and ignore the people who annoy us as opposed to taking time to
speak sincerely with them. It's easier to cast aside and denigrate the 'freaks'
and others that do not look like us or conform to our norms instead of embracing
our differences and try to learn from one another. From Columbine to Virginia
Tech to Sandy Hook Elementary and all the mass killings in between we still
fail to collectively connect the dots.
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What's Missing?
The Apostle Paul wrote in a letter to Timothy that there would come a time when people would love themselves and money more than anything else. He also said that people would be without natural affection and self-control all the while being fiercely mean and unappeasable. Whether you believe in the bible or not no one can reasonably deny that people excessively loving themselves and being willing to hurt others in the process is on the increase. How can you tell? Pay attention to those around you who think very highly of themselves even when you both know they are doing something dead wrong on a continuous basis. Add a little dash of arrogance and voila! you have a lover of self. We can find copious examples of 'lovers of self' on reality television shows where, generally speaking, any type of behavior is excusable and acceptable. This extends into the world of finance and corporations where you don't need to look very hard for examples of money hungry scoundrels. Some people (e.g. Bernie Madoff) and some corporations (e.g. Enron, Goldman Sachs) typify what it means to love money even if it means hurting people in the process of taking it. Both points deals with affection, or the lack thereof, meanness and the inability to appease people. It has become increasingly noticeable that some people are easily moved to anger with little to no ability for anyone or anything to assuage their anger. There is much video evidence of angry, bitter people behaving poorly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-z0_YH2UGw).
Remaining in the vein of
poor behavior what ever happened to self-analysis? Awareness of one’s
shortcomings and adjusting accordingly in a positive way is both helpful to
individuals and society as a whole. The days where we took a good look at
ourselves and blushed or cowered with embarrassment over poor decisions seem to
have almost disappeared from the face of the earth. There is a complete lack of
conscience. The unfortunate fact is without conscience we cannot see the wrong
in the actions of ourselves or others who are behaving in the same manner we
are. Blinded by our own lack of self-awareness of negative actions and any
culpability we should feel we are also blind to the causes of the high levels
of irrational violence that is plaguing our communities. Do we as a nation
wink at violence? No doubt! Preemptive wars against people who haven't harmed
us doesn't seem to bother the average person even after it has been
acknowledged that we were 'mislead'. No protest in the streets to hold those
accountable for the senseless deaths of thousands of soldiers and tens of
thousands of civilians who did nothing more than live in the wrong country at
the wrong time. So desensitized to violence are we that the killing of over 80
people by drones in a month and a half (Dec 2012-mid Jan 2013) hardly rates as
news. But who cares about them; they're terrorist, right? We no longer care
about kidnappings, secret prisons, the suspension of habeas corpus or the mass killing of others abroad.
I'm sure
there are some who are reading this article that believe in the complete
infallibility of America and its policies but most assuredly America is
led by people and people do make mistakes. And a mistake even with good
intentions is still a mistake. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,
essentially, in his sermon "The Drum Major Instinct" that America's
pride and arrogance has caused it to do unnatural things in the world. These
unnatural tendencies have led to some of the most tragic examples of man's
inhumanity to man. Pride and arrogance can be haunting and has a way of showing
up in unexpected places. That is because what we send out into the world is
what we tend get back.
Despicable acts and
violence doesn't bother us anymore partly because our music, television, and
video games along with a healthy dose of apathy has thoroughly desensitized us.
The University of Michigan Health System notes that the average American child
will observe 200,000 acts of violence by the age of 18 with most of these acts
going unpunished and is often accompanied or associated with humor. A full 2/3
of all TV programming has at least one violent act. Violence with humor in the
absence of any perceived punishment equals at best desensitization and at worst
fuel for broken minds and broken spirits to do whatever they will to be done.
What does all of this
have to do with Sandy Hook or any other mass shooting you ask? Great question.
What we are getting back from the energies we send out are people with broken
minds who have a predilection towards violence and destruction. They
desire greatly to harm as many people as possible before surrendering to the
only way out that they can see through suicide. These are people who have been
ignored and isolated from the rest of society. These are people who are
medicated instead of ministered to. It has become very easy and familiar to get
people to pop a pill rather than to engage them in some meaningful way. It
takes a great deal of pride and arrogance to think that some pharmaceutical
chemical cocktail can ultimately replace human interaction. It takes a great
deal of apathy to be so unconcerned with our children, friends, and neighbors
that we routinely ignore them instead of nurture them out of love and respect.
In addition, comfort and complacency allows us to ignore our inhumane actions
abroad and this same complacency allows us to be apathetic in our actions at
home. When moral degradation, technological distractions and pharmaceuticals
replace wisdom, support and love we can expect the Columbines and Sandy Hooks
to continue.
Guns have always been tools that can either be used as a means of
protection or destruction. As a tool it can also be used as a means of
distraction to take our collective eye off of the real problem. Ultimately it
is the people who would do us harm we need to be concerned about and no amount of legislation will
ever erase the darkness that lurks in the hearts and minds of man. Only through
our capacity to love and exercise wisdom can we hope to eradicate a plague that
threatens to consume us.
In the final analysis
the problem with Sandy Hook is us and the solution lies within us.
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